That was my day yesterday and will probably be the same today. Even though I’ve had the computers set up for a couple of weeks now I had decided to give myself some time before I decided which will be dedicated to what function. Yes, one machine will be my primary… mostly the everyday sort of computing… and the other will be specialized merely to handling video and sound editing.
This weekend I was comfortable enough with both to designate which would handle what specific task. It’s strange but machines have their own quirks and personalities of their own. Yeah, nerdy… I know. Though it’s not unlike having a new love… there has to be a little learning time needed together before you both figure out where that comfort zone of the mundane is going to be. So, now that most of the major tweaking is complete (yeah, minor ones will be on going) I jump into using them to tweak and complete web and video work.
SPEAKING OF TWEAKS
… rehearsals for TALE END resume tonight. (But Lecram, hasn’t the show already been performed for an audience?) Yes, it has but if you know me you also know that I will not rest until the most optimum presentation of a piece has been explored and solidified. Good enough is simply not good enough for me… and never has been.
It’s not about being a perfectionist either. Any piece (especially in the performing arts) has to “live”… and continue to do so. Once the mechanics are down the challenge is to infuse it with with a “life-force”. This is why any kind of performance piece worth it’s salt has a vibrancy of it’s own at every performance. This is what (hopefully) connects to an audience who in turn contributes it’s own energy… creating a unique symbiotic relationship and vibrancy to the piece every time it is performed. This is akin to experiencing a live jazz performance.
No two performances are ever the same (nor should be… flubs and bum notes not withstanding)… or it will be come off cold and flat no matter how slick it may appear on the surface. Even if a piece calls for uber synchronicity and preciseness a “soul” should emerge and evolve from performance to performance. Mechanics and structure is paramount and provides the outline of the piece… and from within this the performers individually and collectively color and fill it with essence.
Some may argue that jazz has more fluidity than a theatre piece. I contend that like theatre the boundaries and structure exists within the arrangement. To further define in theatre terms… the song itself is the creation of the composer and the arrangement is a perspective that the director has decided to further illuminate or heighten. From those set boundries the ensemble collaborates in unison but also interprets with their solos… and within those it is with the honest reaction and spontaneous give and take by all concerned that makes it “pop”. At every moment there is an innate and heightened awareness of the “mechanics” by the performers… but on a good night technique disappears and expression rules. So, tweaking provides the performers with multiple choices and options from which they can color the the play.
Anyway… on with the day.