Heather Landon Production Manager
Over the past few months we’ve been gearing up for our two spring tours – In This World and Dib and Dob and the Journey Home. Since our Production Department has been so hard at work getting everything ready to go for those first weeks of rehearsals, we thought we’d invite Heather Landon, our Production Manager, to share some insight into what’s been going on lately in the Production Department:
In This World Set being built at Production Canada. Set Design by Lindsay Anne Black.
It has been a very busy time for us in the Production Department! Coming up we have two fast and furious rehearsal periods (2 weeks each) for two shows that will happen in quick succession. In This World is a brand new show for us which means a longer process of design meetings with the production department, the Director Andrew Lamb, and the designers Lindsay Anne Black and Verne Good. The sound design is coming together nicely and the set is being built right now at Production Canada.Lindsay and I went to visit Production Canada on Valentine’s Day to see the set build progress, answer questions and help make decisions to avoid problems later. For example, we asked that the window frames be screwed in place without using glue so that if one of the plexi-glass pieces were ever damaged on tour it would be easier to replace. This professional shop will complete the set build in just two weeks so the Stage Manager, Thom Speck, can learn how to put it together and have it ready for rehearsals which begin March 4th.
In This World set being built at Production Canada. Set design by Lindsay Anne Black.
Digging up the Dib and Dob set to get ready for the 2013 spring tour. Set design by Karyn McCallum.
Dib and Dob is a remount which might seem easy. Just pull the set out of storage and you’re ready to go, right? Not quite so easy. Roseneath hasn’t toured this show in almost 10 years – before myself or anyone currently on staff worked with Roseneath. We have spent the last few months researching and trying to make all of the little tricks and gadgets work again! The set and costume designer, Karyn McCallum, has come in to help explain a few things and repaint some parts of the set that needed some TLC. We have built new tree branches, have been rebuilding new ‘fleurs’, the props all need quite a bit of work and the costumes will have to be new, updated and adjusted for at least one new actor. The sound design was on an old system that was still using a CD player and a mini-disk system. Designer Rick Sacks and I had to sit down and reprogram all of the music and sound cues into our more current computer SFX 6 playback system which will be much easier for the Stage Manager Sandi Becker.
I’m always excited to bring these shows to students, hear their reactions and discover their questions to understand what parts of the show make them think and change their views about the ideas we present. I love what I do – who else can answer ‘What are you up to?’ in the creative ways that a Production Manager can?
Heather Landon has been the Production Manager with Roseneath Theatre since 2008.