About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2018)
Nick Bowman Features Editor | 770-718-3426 | life@gainesvilletimes.com She (Times gainesvilletimes.com Saturday, November 3, 2018 Above: A piece of equipment that plays a role of rotating the stage in the upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz at the Hosch Theatre. Left: Students work on the stage set on Tuesday, Oct. 30, for the upcoming production of The Wizard of Oz put on by the Gainesville Theatre Alliance. Photos by AUSTIN STEELE The Times ‘A sense of journey’ brought to Oz ♦ L • • .* r ■■■:: -■ V. '*• . :■ • •• . .. I .. A. ' •: f - - • . ■ ■■■ :: smm Sf. i Revolving stage creates spectacle" in GTA’s ‘The Wizard of Oz BY LAYNE SALIBA lsaliba@gainesvilletimes.com Following the yellow brick road will feel a little different in the upcoming “The Wizard of Oz” play from the Gainesville Theatre Alli ance. In fact, most of the scenes will feel a little different than other depictions of Oz you may have seen over the years. With the help of Larry Cook, scenic designer for the play, the stage will come to life with a new revolver, a friction-drive turntable machine, enabling the show deck to spin. Think of it as a record player with castor wheels underneath and the revolver putting it all in motion, turning at different speeds and in different directions when needed. The show is set for Tuesday, Nov. 6, through Nov. 17 at Brenau’s Hosch Theatre. Although tickets are sold out, guests can be put on a waitlist. “One of the things that we talked about early on was how we were going to give a sense of journey to this on a solid stage,” Cook said. “So we had this piece of equipment over here and we had just gotten OK’d to buy another one.” The new setup from Creative Con ners Inc. cost $30,000 — Cook had already built one for about $5,000 for another show, but that system lacked the control needed to bring “Wizard of Oz” to life, prompting the purchase of the more sophisticated setup. There’s a lot of gear that will go into making the play the best it can be. The new revolver, along with the Stagehand Apprentice machine that controls the automation for lat eral movement, the Showstopper 3 Consolette that controls all of the cues and the Spikemark Licence, the software that makes it all work, spins the outer disc of the show deck while the older one Cook built spins the inner disc. “They’ll turn together, they’ll turn in opposition to each other, they’ll turn at different speeds,” Cook said. “It really gives us a lot of versatility in what we can do.” The speed is set to a maximum of 4mph. “I wish we could go a little faster, but you know, you don’t want to get much faster than walking speed.” Apart from making the stage spin, Cook said the show has quite a bit of other moving parts to it. It’s the most technical show he’s ever been involved in. There’s flying, projec tions, small pyrotechnics — all intended to give a little more juice to a plot that will be far beyond famil iar to audiences. “Almost everybody has seen the movie, and we can’t even come close to it,” Cook said. “We can’t hope to match MGM. And so we wanted to capture enough of it that people would recognize it for its spectacle, but at the same time, do something a little different.” Having the revolving stage deck also gave Cook an opportunity to change scenes while another was happening. All that has to happen is the stage needs to spin to reveal the next scene. In order to do that, he had to create large shutters, stretch ing from the ground to the ceiling, that are pulled out so the changing scene in the background wasn’t distracting. “They travel back and forth on the stage to kind of subdivide it,” Cook said. “So basically, I can close off one place, change the scenery and then they open up and that scen ery revolves down.” With all the moving parts in the Alliance’s first performance of “The Wizard of Oz,” Ali Hooks said there’s a lot riding on all of the moving parts working properly. “It just means we’re going to have to be on our toes with this show,” said Hooks, assistant technical direc tor and run crew chief. “There’s very little room for error. But that’s what makes theater magic. What we’re going to try to achieve is, we want to hit every single mark every time so that once you’re in the play, you’re never taken out of it.” . .T'-.f" ’cj : £- ■ '*-• x:* * • \ -.-A: r - L V. Lv K V Left: Students work on the stage set Tuesday, Oct. 30. The stage will revolve during the performance. Right: Larry Cook, scenic designer on the upcoming production, speaks about the rotating stage that will be used in the show put on by the Gainesville Theatre Alliance at the Hosch Theatre. FAITH EVENTS Sounds Of Jericho. 6 p.m. Nov. 3. First Baptist Church, 3780 Old Oakwood Road, Oakwood. Creating Transcendent Moments in Our Lives. 10:30-11:30 a.m. Nov. 4. Georgia Mountains Unitarian Universalist Church, 439 S. Park St., Dahlonega. 706-864-0661 or revcharlottearsenault@gmail.com. Gainesville Prayer Band. 6 a.m. Nov. 4. Church of the Nazarene, Garden Boulevard, Gainesville. 770-536-4864. Gene Turpin and The Gospel Way. 6 p.m. Nov. 4. Community Baptist Church, 153 Double Bridge Road, Mount Airy. 706-778-9521. Highest Praise. Mass choir workshop and concert hosted by the Brenau University Gospel Choir. 6 p.m. Nov. 4. Pearce Auditorium, 202 Boulevard NE, Gainesville. 770-538-4764. World Day of Prayer. 7 p.m. Nov. 5. Greater Timber Ridge Church, Gaines Mill Road, Gainesville. 770-536-4864. Holiday Bazaar. Holiday gifts, crafts, food and fun. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 10. Cornerstone of Faith, 3485 McEver Road, Gainesville. cornerstoneoffaith@ gmail.com. Book signing for the Rev. Cynthia Whitehead Jackson. Books and other products from her “Tiny Tots & Tikes” product line will be available following the 10:45 a.m. service on Nov. 11. First Baptist Church, 1810 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Gainesville. Gene Turpin and The Gospel Way. 6 p.m. Nov. 11. New Hope Baptist Church, 5040 Pea Ridge Road, Cornelia. 706-778-9521. Marriage Enrichment. 9-9:45 a.m. Nov. 11, Dec. 9 and Jan. 13. Mount Zion Baptist Church, 4000 Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery Branch. 770-967-3722 or mzbcinfo@yahoo.com. Orpheus Men’s Ensemble. 5 p.m. Nov. 11. Cumming First United Methodist Church, 770 Canton Highway, Cumming. efumega. com/music-and-arts/concerts- and-festivals/#. Veterans Appreciation. 10 a.m. to noon. Nov. 11. Mount Zion Baptist Church, 4000 Thurmon Tanner Road, Flowery Branch. mzbcinfo@yahoo.com. Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. 6-8 p.m. Nov. 13. St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, 1188 Hamp Mill Road, Dahlonega. 706-864-0661 or revcharlottearsenault@gmail.com. Putting the “Thanks” back into Thanksgiving. 8-9:30 p.m. Nov. 16. Grace Chapel Church of Christ, 6755 Majors Road, Cumming. Singles Enrichment/ Empowerment. 9-9:45 a.m. Nov. 25, Dec. 23 and Jan. 27. Mount Zion Baptist Church, 4000 Thurmond Tanner Road, Flowery Branch, mzbcinfo@yahoo.com. Movie Night. 7 p.m. Dec. 1, Jan. 26, Feb. 23 and March 30. Chicopee United Methodist Church, 3 First St., Gainesville. 770-634-6803 or pegflute@ yahoo.com. Christmas Lessons and Carols. 8:45 a.m. Dec. 16. Cumming First United Methodist Church, 770 Canton Highway, Cumming. The LeFevre Quartet. 6 p.m. Dec. 16. Lighthouse Baptist Church, 329 Harmony Church Road, Dawsonville. The LeFevre Quartet and Sounds Of Jericho. 7 p.m. Dec. 28. The Venue at Christ Place Church, 3494 Atlanta Highway, Oakwood. ONGOING Celebrate Recovery. 6:15-9 p.m. every Friday. Dinner, large group service and small groups. Children’s ministry available for children of all ages. CrossBridge Community Church, 751 Ga. 53 E, Dawsonville. $2-3. 770-883-2576 or slreeves2@ yahoo.com. Free clothing store. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Tuesday. Infant, children and adult clothing available for those in need. Donations appreciated. Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 7049 Spout Springs Road, Flowery Branch. 678-336-6964. Gentle Hearts Ministry Food Pantry. Distribution of food. 5-6 p.m. every Wednesday. St. Paul United Methodist Church, 705 Summit St., Gainesville. 770-536-4910. Senior adult choir. 1 p.m. Wednesdays. First Presbyterian Church, 800 S. Enota Drive, Gainesville. Membership not required. 770-532-0136.
