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Archives for : design

Recapping a Super Busy March and April

Posted by :Dan Pelletier On : May 5, 2014
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So it’s been a long while since my last update. I really want to get back to making this a weekly (or at least bi-weekly) update on all things me, so I’ll just need to make it a priority.

Theatre related happenings:

April started off with the great experience that was light designing for the Windham Actors’ Guild production of “Oliver.” I had never lit a show quite as big, nor in this big of a space, so it was an exciting challenge and grand learning opportunity. Sticking with my commitment to always challenging myself, I tried a few new things, used bold colors, and experimented a bit with what I could do with the lights. The two parts that made the entire tech process extra “fun” were having less instruments that I thought I had, and the “Murphy’s Law” moment when I spent six hours getting my Act One cues perfect only to mistype a few commands and erase all my work. Despite all of these mishaps, the show still went up with the lights being a hit. I would like to thank WAG for the opportunity to work with them, and hope we can continue to have a good working relationship in the future.

Cue Zero is rolling right along. Being an independent producer has proven to be a little bit more difficult than I had anticipated, but we are still in great shape to open our inaugural show in July. Auditions are this Wednesday night, and I can’t wait to get to share my beloved script with some wonderfully talented actors and actresses.

Non-Theatre related happenings:

My vacation to Orlando was wonderful. It was great to spend time with my family, watch my sister play softball, and hangout with some very good friends of mine at Disney. I was really inspired by the trip, with the countless things to do. Before the trip, I had never really entertained the thought of working down there like many of my fellow theatre friends, but after the trip, I finally understood the appeal and have added it to my list of possibilities for future paths, although I know there is very stiff competition to be apart of any major attraction in the Sunshine State.

FRC Team 3467 had an extremely adventurous end to our season. After being ranked number one in New England going into the event, the team had a solid showing at the New England Championship event, making it to the quarter finals of the event, and taking home the Engineering Inspiration award. Between the award, and the robot’s performance, the team qualified to compete at the world championship event in St. Louis, Missouri. Getting to St. Louis as pure insanity, as we had our coach bus breakdown on us with no replacement available. We were informed of this shortly after midnight the night before we were scheduled to leave. The team somehow managed to find three twelve person vans to carry our team, another team that agreed to transport all our equipment on their bus, and extra funds to cover any additional costs in eleven very stressful hours. Once the team completed the two day journey to the event, our bad luck continued for our first few matches. Luckily our students are very resilient, and never let any of our misfortunes get them down. We came back from some bad losses to still qualify for the playoffs in our division (which had one hundred teams competing, compared to the 40-60 teams we saw at all our other events). Our alliance played brilliantly and we upset the division favorite to take home the team’s sixth medal on the year. We were eventually defeated in the final four by the eventual world championship alliance, but that didn’t take away from how much we enjoyed the entire weekend. I am extremely proud of all our students, and I am very happy I decided to come out of “retirement” from FIRST to be a part of this very special team.

That’s the super brief version of March and April. My life doesn’t get any less busy, between Cue Zero rehearsals and funding finding, wedding and prom season, and figuring out what I’m doing with my life beyond the month of August, the adventure never stops! Thanks for reading.

New Goal Set

Posted by :Dan Pelletier On : November 13, 2013
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Well, “Shrew” has come and gone, and I must say it was a smashing success. We pulled a strong audience every night, both in numbers and in their reception to the piece. More importantly, I believe every person involved with the production grew as a person, and became better performers, designers, theater organizers, etc. because of their work on the show, which is the most important factor when working on a project with Mask and Dagger. I know I personally learned about lighting design, what goes into producing a show, the director-designer relationship, effective leadership, and so many more minor things that will help me become a more effective theatre artist. I hope everyone involved takes time to reflect upon how being apart of this production has changed them, and will use this reflection to not only make them better actors/designers/directors/etc, but also better people. Once again, thank you to Samantha Smith for giving me this great opportunity.

Moving on to my next big project (I have a series of small projects I’m attempting to get going), I have set my next big career goal. As of right now, I am twenty three years old. Before I turn twenty four, I am going to self-produce a performance of an original play, at least one hour in length. This gives me approximately 250 days to go from concept to performance, which I believe is plenty of time, if I put my mind to it. After some examination, I have determined the bare minimum things needed for producing a piece of theatre are actors, an idea, a performance space, and an audience.  Hopefully by this time next week I will put together a schedule of hard deadlines for the various milestones on the project. The place I believe is best to start is to put together a small “brain trust” of a few individuals whom I trust dearly for me to bounce ideas off of, and produce a starting script as soon as possible. Expect a weekly update on the progress of the project, as well as information on how you can get involved along the way.

In other Dan Pelletier news, the more I go to Windham Windup robotics team meetings, the more I am in love with this team. Team 3467 is exactly what a FIRST robotics team is supposed to be, is loaded with bright, young individuals who are all going to achieve great things in life, and this team is primed for a successful FRC season.

I’ve got the ball rolling on a few other projects I’m attempting to get involved with, but until things are official, I shan’t say what they are.  I’m currently gearing up for the holiday season, as many of my friends know, I am a “Christmas Enthusiast.” I cannot wait for the first real snow fall, decorations, FOOD, tv and music specials, and all the other things that go along with this time of the year. Really just Halloween through New Years is wonderful in my eyes. Also, I still have a ton of reading I’m attempting to get done, both for intellectual simulation, as well as for pleasure, although I am on the verge of giving up on one piece of text that I thought would be very insightful, but has turned out to be boring and lacking substance. Since I hate ending on a negative note like that, I will also add that I am finally seeing some great progress at the gym. While I am still technically no where near my target weight, I am feeling in better shape, have gained strength and flexibility, and several people have commented on my physique looking slimmer. With any luck, I’ll be back to “game shape” by the time we are ringing in the New Year!

Thanks for reading!

Shrew, Youtube, Robotics, and So Much More!

Posted by :Dan Pelletier On : November 6, 2013
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After months of planning, rehearsing, designing, building, and millions of other tasks, Mask and Dagger’s production of “The Taming of the Shrew” is finally ready to open! Tonight we have our final dress rehearsal, and while there are still a few kinks to work out tonight, I am certain we will have a fantastic opening on Thursday, and a great show week. The thing that makes a Mask and Dagger production more challenging than some is the fact that we have a very abbreviated tech week. We load in the set Saturday and Sunday (the best we can anyways, usually we have to come in Monday and Tuesday mornings as well) and then we get three tech/dress rehearsals before we open. It can be a bit nerve racking at times, especially with so many people in positions they may not have held before, but somehow, through the magic of theatre, it always comes together in the end. Hopefully audiences will love this show as much as we all do, and I am sure everyone is as proud of all the work we’ve put in as I am.

Check out the event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/355789357890855/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming

In other Dan Pelletier news, I will now be utilizing my new YouTube channel (danpelletiertheatre) to give the world a taste of all my different talents. The first video I have uploaded is my final performance for our Acting III class last May, which was an original “New Clown” piece. I should start uploading new material regularly to YouTube starting in 2014, but be on the look out in the coming weeks for a few surprises.

You can check out the clowning video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPr2Nfmr3bA

I have attended my second Windham Windup robotics meeting, and my Chairman’s Award team is now hard at work on constructing our strategy. I love the culture of excellence that the other mentors on the team have created, and the students on the team are enthusiastic about being on the team, learning, and the overalll FIRST experience. Over the next few weeks, I will be developing a series of mini-projects to help prepare my team for their Chairman’s Award presentation, as well as teaching them the finer aspects of creating and developing any sort of collaborative project.

Over the weekend, I was able to take in two different performances: Seacoast Repertory Theatre’s The Odd Couple and the University of New Hampshire Department of Theatre and Dance’s Anything Goes. My dear friend Gabby Archambault was delightful in “The Odd Couple” as Cecily Pigeon, and it was an enjoyable night of comedy. I also had a good time at Anything Goes, despite the less-than-stellar writing/plot that plagues many Golden Age musicals. The tap choreography was fantastic and the lead performers all had their moments to showcase their talent, which made for a relaxing night at the Johnson Theater. After the show, it was great to catch up with people in the show, as well as other alumni that were also in the audience. With everything in life lately moving so quickly, being able to hang out with friends, and carry on conversations as if we still see each other every day is very refreshing.

Well, with all that said, I’d once again like to plug “The Taming of The Shrew” which opens tomorrow night, and runs through Sunday in the Stratford room of the Memorial Union Building (MUB) at the University of New Hampshire. The hours upon hours of hard work were very well spent, and I doubt anyone that sees this production will walk away disappointed. Subscribe to my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/DanPelletierTheatre and be on the look out for my next big project!