"O" CDS

This past week has been crazy--but in a good way.

After the 5k I jumped back into another full work week, shadowed another show and then worked a headliner gig at T.I.

This past Thursday I went and shadowed, "O." This show is UNBELIEVABLE. Not only are the performers extremely talented, but the technical details are inspiring and the artistic vision is mesmerizing. I could watch this show multiple times and still find new meaning. I plan on visiting the show again on one of my off days and purely watch the show for enjoyment rather than education.

The theater seats about 1,600 and it's quite often that this show sells out. Created by the same director that concocted, Le Rève and Mystère, "O" challenges the audience to re-evaluate their perspective on the world in which they live... but enough about that. Back to the technical side of things...

For those who are not familiar with this CDS avenue, "O" is a water show. It involves divers and swimmers completing acrobatic tricks on a stage that can be submerged in the water to reveal a pool. If all the lifts are up, the audience is presented with a dry stage. If the lifts are down, there is a 15' deep pool. I watched the first show from the booth with the caller, and then was backstage for the second show. Much like Mystère, "O" calls automations as well as performer entrances. I was lucky to witness a clean show with no technical faults, but mistakes do happen very often. When a fault occurs with a lift, the automators try to fix the problem asap, but if nothing can be done--they sink the lift and it stays at the bottom of the pool until the end of the show. This will sometime effect the symmetry of the show, but hey--the show must go on!

As the caller explained more about the procedures for accidents, faults and other complications, I felt a little relief in knowing that not everyone is perfect--even Cirque. Sure, it's what everyone strives for, but again--things happen. What is admirable is how people rise to the challenge. A show can plan for events, but the real test is when theory becomes reality or the unforeseeable happens.

ANYWAY--getting back to the show again--'O' has some awesome effects. Again, it has the lifts that can rise above or sink below water, automation to fly items in, out, across and around the stage, and a giant Kabuki curtain that sits in front of the stage and also floats above the water until it's triggered and disappears in a matter of seconds. At the end of the show (warning--this may be a spoiler) the kabuki curtain reappears by floating onstage in a basket and then re-setting to it's opening position hanging from the proscenium arch.

BACKSTAGE is another world unto itself. The backstage area is divided into 'wet halls' and 'dry halls.' What this simply means is that there are halls with non-slip surfaces that allow cast and crew to walk safely after being in or around the pool. Each dressing room has two entrances--one from the wet hall and one from the dry hall. Wardrobe is stationed between the dressing rooms and the stage and does lots of maintenance each day to repair and maintain all of the costumes that go in and out of the water. There are over 4,000 lights used for the show, and many of these lights also appear under-water. Under the stage there is a 'lighting tunnel' where there are lights and pumps for under the pool. Not only do these lights serve artistic purposes, but they're also there to guide divers and performers during the show. There are lights that mark center, SR and SL, as well as give warnings and cues. This level of the stage has glass paneling that allows someone to look into the pool and see any action that is occurring underwater... and there's a lot that goes on.

Each lift underwater has hundreds of safety levers attached. If one of these levers is activated, the lift stops moving. Sometimes these levers are intentionally engaged, and sometimes a person accidentally hits one. To re-engage the show the lever has to be restored and automations has to re-store the lift, or automations has to re-route the system to bypass the safety. How can an automator in the booth tell if a safety has been triggered on purpose or not? Why, by underwater clear-com of course! Yes... there are divers underwater, and they have clear-com and they can communicate to the caller if need be. The caller also calls several clears and go's underwater through his paging system. In the pool there's a sound system that plays the show music and the calling SMs voice.

As I mentioned before, I was backstage for the second show. What this meant is that I followed the two SMs on their show tracks. The SM team at "O" operates closer to how SM's are normally perceived. They are there to problem-solve, manage and cue more than any other task. This team is good at what they do, and during the second show there was a problem that arose. Rather than bother the caller with the concern, they took care of it on their own and moved on. I respect this Cirque attitude that a Stage Manager is a Stage Manager--no matter where they are. Why bother the caller with something you can fix and they have no control over? They have enough on their plate! Following the SMs backstage was refreshing because nothing ever happened in a rush, but everything has a purpose. All in all--and in summary--I had a very pleasant time shadowing "O" and I hope to go back again--either as an audience member or visiting backstage again.

Quickly touching on my next few nights--Friday I was the SM for Sinbad at TI. This was a simply gig, and all I really did was make sure his rider (contract basically) was fulfilled, and that he got onstage. I called houselights and walk-on music...and that was it. At the end of his act I took him back to the greenroom and gathered any guests he had to visit--which included Chris Tucker among others. For this little gig I got paid more than I make in a week at CDS (not complaining--just stating, please don't read this wrong!), and I now have Sinbad's name on my resume and in my phone. Yup--Sinbad texted me. I'll never have a use for it, but hey--it's still pretty cool. I'm glad that my SM team gave me this opportunity.

And after Sinbad it was back to another week of Mystère, and that's where I am now. Week 4 and halfway through the internship. I think I'm doing well, but I still feel as though there's so much to learn and not enough time. Most internships are 12 weeks, and mine is 8 just because of the timing in their season. This opportunity is allowing me to see what the company does in a short time and challenging me to rise to the occasion of learning and executing tasks in a short amount of time. I'm enjoying the challenge and hope that I'm doing well. We'll see. Success is not measured by job offers (as some past interns feel) but rather the experiences I'm able to learn from during my time here.

...alright. I'm getting a bit too philosophical. It's time for another night's rest after a long week. This weekend (weekend being Thursday/Friday) I get two days off to explore Las Vegas with the bf as he comes to visit. I'll try to take the time to write about any fun locations or discoveries we make about the town.

Thanks for reading again!