The Marvelous Wonderettes

Some shoots are just pure fun and energy and this was definitely up there on the fun scale. There are all beautiful and talented girls so if you have a chance to see “The Marvelous Wonderettes” please do so. For more information contact Broadway By The Bay.

Photo Shoot Video

Seriously? It has literally been months since I posted anything. That is an abysmal record. Perhaps if I had some kind of following that held me accountable I could summon the time to, at the very least, post once a week. Someone? Anyone?  Of course one could argue that if I posted more often I could generate a following. Sigh. In the end it really does comes down to me but I swear that I have not been idly sitting on my laurels twiddling my thumbs. Building and growing a business in a tough economy when your primary clients are in the arts is no easy task and we are working very hard to build our brand while delivering great photos to our clients.

I am also beginning to experiment with video as an extra service that we can offer especially since both Mark and I can’t shoot the studio shoots at the same time it gives me an opportunity to showcase and document how we work. Take a look and if you have any feedback I will happily take it.

The Secret Garden

Ok, I must confess, I have never read The Secret Garden, nor have I seen the movie or the musical until earlier this week. Mark blames it on my Canadian upbringing but really it is because I lived in an oversized garden as a child and likely didn’t think I needed to read about one. As early as the age of 9 I would disappear into the woods on our 350 acre farm for hours and I never remember getting into too much trouble for it. I explored, made forts and made up stories of the wild west and survival, not your average fare for a a girl but then I wasn’t your average girl. I look back on those days with the fondest memories but my mum remembers it differently, she remembers thinking that I was a lonely child where as I remember life so full of everything. I did read as well but it was all about the Black Stallion or Black Beauty or the Lone Ranger which all went along with my love of horses in general. But I digress. 

Angelina Wahler was but one of the delights I experienced Sunday as I photographed this wonderful Gothic tale, another was knowing so many of the cast but ultimately it was all of the cast and the story that makes this production so wonderful. I hope all of you have a chance to experience it but if not here are some of my images including the poster image that we shot earlier this year at Filoli.

For more information on how you can see The Secret Garden please go to the TheatreWorks site

 

Angelina Wahler

Angelina Wahler

 The cast.

With Angelina Wahler, Patricia Noonan*, Theodore Barry*, Mrigendra Steiner, Robert Brewer*, Sharon Rietkerk*, Leanne Borghesi, Noel Anthony*, Joe Cassidy*, Courtney Stokes*, Daniel Olson*, Alex Brightman* and Andrew Apy. 

* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

Teatro ZinZanni

One of the really the great things about being a performance photographer is that while I am shooting I get to experience some amazing talent. Although I don’t get to fully appreciate it until I go through the images later since while it is going on I am trying to get the shots that wow the clients. The most difficult shooting I have encountered is for Teatro ZinZanni since the theatre is in the round filled with paying clients, wait staff, performers and management. The guidelines are strict but the payoff is pretty incredible as you can see in the image below. 

If you have never been to Teatro ZinZanni and live in either the Bay Area or Seattle I highly recommend it. The venue itself is intimate and unique, the food is great but it is being so close to the performance that creates some real magic that you can’t find anywhere else.

 

TheatreWorks Conservatory 2011

For the last 3 years I have had the pleasure of photographing the TW Conservatory. It is a paid job but one that does not feel much like work since I get to see these young adults in preparation for their culminating performances that occur at the end of the 4 week program. For the second year, as a gift to the kids, Mark and I have shot the performance and we were once again blown away by these young and aspiring thespians. During their time at the conservatory they learn all about their craft but they also have the task of writing an original monologue that they each perform during the presentation. The theme this year was In Transit and each of them interpreted it in their own unique way, some with incredible ingenuity and others with heartbreaking honesty. All of them put themselves out there creatively and left me in tears, again. 

Thank you goes out to all the teaching artists associated with the Conservatory as well as the countless others helping kids in this way all across the country. I have repeatedly seen how important the arts are and what a difference they can make in a child’s life. Here are just a few images from the performance which was held outside.

 

 

 

Fly By Night

The World Premier of Fly By Night opens in 2 weeks and we had the delight of shooting the publicity a couple of weeks ago. Here are a couple images from that shoot and stay tuned for some of the live production photographs later this month. To learn more about the production or how you can see it visit TheatreWorks

The Cookie Booth @TBA Conference

Mark and I attended the Theatre Bay Area Conference today as vendors armed with posters, computer, books, postcards, business cards, cameras and homemade cookies. Cookies you ask? Yes. Mark had the great idea that we would be a cookie booth and if anyone wanted a cookie they had to pose for a picture with their best cookie pose. Needless to say it was a hit.

When Mark was chatting I would take the shots with his camera and this was one of my favorites. Bon Appetit.