Moveable Feast Opening Night

The time has finally come for the opening night of Moveable Feast.  To be totally honest, tech-ing the piece was kind of a nightmare.  As much as you try to prepare and organize for something, there are just things that are out of your hands.  It's a lesson that I'm sure I will be hit with on a constant basis now that I am running a dance company.

What I was able to control went really well, I thought.  The dancers looked beautiful and of course, very professional.  They were on top of it and they made that part of the tech process so much easier.

The last several days, we transformed the Garage into a space that represented Project. B. well.  Margo Moritz hung her artwork in the lobby and created an ambience that felt very welcoming and visually pleasing.  Marco, also hung his 3 framed posters of Project. B. that greeted the guests as they purchased their tickets and drinks.

Opening night was a little rough because of tech.  The breaker to the lights kept malfunctioning and the lighting board seemed to not cooperate.  Aaaah!  At 7:30 pm the guests were standing outside the doors of the Garage just waiting to enter the space.  Joe let everyone in around 7:40, however, there were still technical difficulties.  Although people were standing shoulder to shoulder in the lobby waiting to enter the house, it was really nice to see that we were SOLD OUT!

All in all, the show went well.  I took a breath when the lighting board decided to erase the last three cues of the last piece and Mike, the lighting designer, had to switch to a manual board.  At that point, the upstage lights cut out!  Luckily, they still had downstage lights that created a box and for the most part, lit the last section of the last piece.  The dancers kept dancing, the music kept playing, and the audience didn't notice the malfunction.

The videos were also a hit.  A couple aaahs and giggles and claps came following each video.

I think people enjoyed the show.  I spoke to a few guests afterwards and was very glad to hear the questions they had for me, the thoughts that were provoked from the whole evening's concept, and that they left thinking and exploring more about my process and about each piece.  That's really what I wanted to accomplish.  I think opening night went well considering all the technical glitches.

Did Moveable Feast give the audience the chance to explore the notion of perception and viewpoint?  Did the audience see what it is that might nurture their minds and feed their souls, and provide them with newfound energy and inspiration?  I think so.  At least the questions I received, the conversations I heard and had with guests afterwards made me believe so.

On to tonight.  We have sold 3/4 of the tickets already.  Let's hope walk-ins will sell out the house again:)