Finally, a shot of my current workplace! It's not a very remarkable picture, but I hope it conveys SOME of the crazy collection of masks and props I have to deal with. The paper "wall" in the upper right-hand is a small part of the giant paper screen behind which all the shadow puppets are operated. Some of the 20+ masks are hanging on the left and in the foreground is one of the light tables where different sets are put up to cast backdrop shadows.
It's been a long week and I'm very glad to have a day off tomorrow. We've been doing run-throughs, and although it's going pretty well, I get so frustrated with myself when I mess up and don't have the right prop or lighting set in the right place at the right time. A little voice says "if you were a more experienced ASM, you wouldn't have screwed up." BUT... I am so very glad I took on this project- I've learned a lot about myself as well as new skills in Excel, backstage organisation, and overall diplomacy.
Yesterday, Jon and I had a well-earned outing with our pals SD & Kris. After rehearsal, we met them in their funky Strathcona apartment and walked down to Gastown to this great little pub called Six Acres. It should've been called Six Square Feet, as it was very cramped, but wonderful food and very inventive cocktails. I had a Dark & Stormy, which was dark rum with organic giger ale and lime juice. YUM! I could chug lime juice all day- it's the most refreshing taste I know.
I was kicking myself for not bringing the camera- there are so many amazing shots in that part of town. Not the touristy Gastown shots, but further east along Powell Street, where Japantown used to be- there are incredible run-down old buildings and peeking through them, gorgeous views of the mountains. Boarded-up hovels, expensive studios, oriental produce markets, seedy "hotels"... layer upon layer of Vancouver history. We don't tend to hold on to our past very carefully here, which is why I MUST go back and shoot some of these places! Maybe tomorrow, if the light is good...