A Few Words About Classes

I have already talked about a few classes, but I a few other stories about my classes at UB.

The year I took Introduction to Theatre the class filled up and another section was added.
There were over 150 in the first section and only 12 or 15 at most in the section I took.
One of the first things that the instructor told us was that if we wanted to learn about Greek and Roman Theatre, lots of names and dates then we should take the other section; but if wanted to learn about Theatre then we should stay.
I stayed.

The class was more like an improv or acting class, along with other stray topics added from time to time.

The only required text was “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”.

http://robertpirsig.org/news.htm

Good book, not really about Theatre, but it was a good read.

It was a great class and the teacher cast us as extras in the play he was directing.
The play was an original work called “The Alley Between Our Two Houses”.
We were all extras in a bar that was part of the show.
It was a memory/sexual fantasy play with a live Rock band onstage in the bar.
It was odd and lots of fun and there is no way I could tell you the plot in the space that I have here.

One day in class we were doing a traditional acting exercise, the Trust game, where someone stands in the middle and just falls to one side, is caught, stood back up and then falls in an another direction.
Well the girl in the middle was facing me and fell toward me, and because I wanted to be a gentleman and not grab her ample chest, I tried to grab for her shoulders and almost dropped her.

Another day we had to tell each something that most people did not know about us.
When it was her turn, the same girl from the Trust game stood up and turned around and dropped her pants to show us a tattoo on her ass.
I think it was a butterfly.

Jumping ahead a few year I was walking through the Museum of Modern Art in NYC with a friend and we met this same girl coming up a stairway in the museum.
We talked briefly and as she went up the stairs the last thing I saw of course was her butt and broke into laughter.
After a minute I had to share with my friend what I found so funny.

Back in my Freshman year I took Stage Lighting I and remember one class demo that did not go as the teacher had planed.
He was talking about color and its use on the stage.
We looked at the primaries and how the mixed to white and some other combinations.
Then he began to talk about certain colors did not always work well on some skin tones.
Green of course is not a good choice in most cases.
The he said that amber (yellow) did not work well on the skin of Black actors.
We happened to have an African-American student in the class and he was asked if would stand in the light, which he did.
So an amber gel was put in a light and the student looked great, his color was just fine and everyone laughed.
I did learn an important lesson that day; do not assume anything, test things for yourself, and although there may be conventions, do not be afraid to experiment.

Senior year I took a special topics seminar course taught by two instructors including the Department Chair.
Not thinking clearly three of us had a few beers in the Rathskeller over in the student union before the late afternoon class.
Of course one by one we had to leave to go pee, at least once, and with about 12 of us all sitting at one big table it did not go unnoticed.

I took two art classes in a building a few blocks from campus.
They were in an old city old water pumping building with lots of pipes, big valves and others interesting things to draw, paint or photograph.
I was eager to take the classes but disappointed in how the Art Department treated non-majors taking their classes.
My biggest disappoint was when the drawing class was split and the non-majors sent to draw in the basement when they brought in the naked models, thankful we had lots of naked people back in the Theatre Department.

Senior year at UB.

I still had many plays to work on, some new adventures and plans for my future.
My senior year I got to design the lighting for two more plays and served as the Technical Director for another, but I was looking for some other challenges and opportunity and that is why I decided to work with the concert committee designing the lighting for a number of events.

On larger concerts I would help setup the sound and lights that came with the bands and often run a follow spot during the concert itself.
The 70’s were, the 70’s, and there was always too much parting before, during and after the concerts.
It was normal that there would be 10 cold cases of Molson Golden Ale backstage, although most would be saved until after the show was over and the equipment was loaded back onto the trucks.
On smaller shows I would design and run the lighting for the concert, calling out cues over a headset to my follow spot operators.

One of these concerts was with the Punk Rocker Patti Smith.
This was just before her peak, while she was still on the rise.
We really did not have that much lighting equipment, but it was enough to cover the stage and have some flashing colors.
Wild time.
Just before the concert I got a message that Patti wanted to see me backstage.
I was a bit excited to meet her and went into the dressing room area and was introduced to her and this is what she had to say to me: ”Have fun with the lights man”.
Wow, I never would have thought that.
I smiled and just as I was about the leave her guitar player grabbed me by the arm and pulled me aside.
With a very serious tone he said that I could do what I wanted, but NEVER completely black out the stage as Patti was afraid of the dark.

It turned out that she had once fallen off the stage and hurt her neck badly.
I assured him that there was always going to be some light on, as I knew that we had too many lights for our dimmers and a set of backlights were just plugged directly into the wall outlets.
I never was a fan of Punk Rock, but Patti Smith put on a great show that included all of the songs that she would become famous for.
http://www.pattismith.net/

Gilda Radner would make fun of her a few months later on Saturday Night Live.

I also got to do lighting for the comedian Robert Klein.
I got to talk with him before the show, but I did not like how he talked down to me, just barking out orders and demanding things that I had no power to give him.
The show was OK, I did the best I could, but I never really found him to be that funny after that.
(He has website too, you can find if you really want to)

I worked on a number of other concerts, large and small, including some Rock, Jazz and even a Folk Festival.
We did concert with one local band whose name I knew from the radio but had never heard play.
To my surprise the band turned out to be Spyro Gyra, a successful Jazz Fusion band that went on to record over 25 albums and had hits with the "Shaker Song" and "Morning Dance".
I did another concert with them later in the year.
Gee maybe it was my lighting that helped them on their way to out of Buffalo and to world tours?

http://www.spyrogyra.com/generalinfo.php?type=history

In the spring of 1978 I was hired to design the sets and lights for a local high school production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor”.
As I was getting near the end of my time at UB it was nice to be hired for an off-campus job, even if it was only for a high school, and it paid, not something that all my Theatre jobs have done.
I did a nice job and was happy with the result.

Each year I was in college I saw upperclassmen go off to Graduate School.
By the time of my senior year I had thought that I might try to go on to Grad School and had started to investigate my options.
One former classmate went on to the University of Michigan on a full scholarship.
It seemed like a good idea so I applied and waited to see what would happen.

General Education

Like many colleges, back when I was at UB there was a general education requirement to take a selection of classes not in my major in addition to Foreign Language and Physical Education courses too.
Compared to the “Gen Ed” program at the College that I currently teach, it was not too demanding and I enjoyed most of the classes that I took.
Among the classes that I took were several History and Political Science courses along with a class in Geography.

I also took a class in Electronics offered by the Medical Technology Department.
I never would have thought to take this class but it was the only electronic course at UB that would allow non-majors take it.
It turned out that the professor was a local actor and liked having Theatres Majors in the class and often made jokes that only we would laugh at.
The lecture part of the class had about 75 to 100 women and only three men, all theatre majors.
The Lab part of the course was held off campus at a local Hospital and my lab partner was a woman who lived near me in the dorm.
As much as I love Theatre, I found that I really enjoyed the non-theatre subjects and being away from the Theatre and meeting new groups of students.
Of course the fact that the class was all women was very cool too.

I had to take two "Phys Ed" courses and one was called “Flag Football and Fitness and Conditioning”.
It was co-ed and lots of fun as we played football until it got too cold and spent the rest of the semester jogging and working out in the weight room.
One day in the middle of one semester we came in for class and found a note that said “Teacher Dead - Class Cancelled”.
Our original teacher was feisty, fun, had great stories and was an early recipient of knee replacement surgery.
Well we soon got a new instructor, a nice enough guy who let us play on the trampoline, but we missed the old one.

I took four semesters of French, but I must admit I do not remember too much today.
One day, while still living on the new campus, I got up early and took the bus to the main campus to be on time for my 8:00 AM class.
Of course it was cold and snowy; 14 degrees and very windy as I recall.
I got off the bus and walked across the open campus to my class and just in time to see someone leaving a note on the blackboard that the class was canceled.
Fortunately this time the teacher was not dead, but it was 8:02 AM and I was cold, hungry.

A is for Apple

In an earlier post I talked about how once I got past my first few classes and had worked on several productions in college my responsibilities grew.
I first became a Master Electrician and Master Carpenter then a Technical Direction and Lighting Designer.
What I had not planned on was that I would be asked to grade my fellow students.
First I was just asked how well the student had done working on the various crews but later I was asked to give them a grade.
I always found this a bit hard but I found that I enjoyed teaching the new students what to do and how to do it.
I did not know at that time that I would become a teacher but the thought had crossed my mind.
I remember one time there were a couple of girls working on a crew, I believe that they were nursing majors.
One day they gave me an apple one day with a note tied to it that said “A is for Apple”.
I ate the apple and gave it back to them with a new note “C is for Core”.

Unlike the previous summer I had not made any plans to work when I went home after my junior year at UB.
I ended up working at a small professional theatre just a few miles from where I lived on Long Island.
The Theatre, The Airport Playhouse was in a bunch of industrial building near the Long Island MacArthur Airport.

(Trivia: The old airport building at MacArthur was used in the opening of the 1970 movie The Out of Towers with Jack Lemon.)

The Theatre was not big, the stage was plywood resting on a bed of 55 gallons drums and I could reach the lights with just a short ladder.
I was hired to be the Lighting Designer for two shows; Rogers and Hart, A Musical Celebration and The Sound of Music.
I also had to be the lighting board operator and follow spot operator, a juggling act that I found out later has been done by many young designers.

The shows were OK, my Lighting was "Spectacular" of course, but more important is that this is where I would meet Richard Logothetis, the owner of Lycian Stage Lighting.
Logothetis’ shop was still on Long Island at that time and by luck was just next door to the Theatre.
OK, you would have to take a short path and go through a small break in the trees, but the parking lots basically backed up to each other.
He supplied the Lighting equipment that was used by the Theatre and I met him when he came by to fix something.
We talked and became friendly and I would work for the next summer after I graduated from UB.
I will talk more about that in future blog entries.
http://www.lycian.com/Home/index.htm

Because I was not making much money at the Theatre I took temp day jobs working through an agency.
I worked a variety of jobs, some for just for a day but one lasted several weeks.
You would have to show up at 6:00 AM and wait to get sent out if there were any jobs.
On the first job I was sent to as I drove up to the area of the place I saw picket signs and was very concerned, I was not going to be a scab and cross the line.
It turned out to be the business next store.

Over the summer I worked in several warehouses moving items and filling orders to be shipped out.
I also worked as a cleaner for a couple of days, something I was used to from my high school job.
The most memorable job was being sent to paint the side of a large fuel storage tank. I had a safety harness on and climbed up the side of the tank, not the biggest, but still large enough.
It was hot, hard to do and very scary when one of the trucks in the loading dock caught fire.
I did not know that I could move so fast as when I tried to get down and away from the fire.
I was invited back the next day but chose not to go back, but found out later that I was the only one who ever came back from lunch to the job.

I was able to get my younger brother a job as the prop master for The Sound of Music.
He worked very hard and did and good job and was very happy when he got paid at the end, $100, the same as me.
I knew that both of us were being under paid, but at 14 he was very happy with the money he got.
What surprises me is that the theatre is still there, thirty plus years later.
They have gone through many staff changes and are still in the same building, and the last time I drove by it does not look like they have expanded at all.
http://www.airportplayhouse.com/index.html

I just found out that Airport Playhouse is closing as of December 2010

Senior year in college and making plans for the future was just ahead for me.

Return to Buffalo

Because of scheduling of our current production and the renovations of the Tower Fine Arts Center, we had the set for our next play, “The Story” built by the UB scenic shop.
I had a chance to go back to UB two days last week and it seems strange to me as I write my blog about events that happened there over thirty years ago.

I have visited a few times over the years, but the university has changed and grown so large that I hardly recognize it.

Porter Quad

I had a little extra time and drove over to the Ellicott Complex where I lived for two years when it first opened in 1974.

The Ellicott Complex is one million square feet; six dorms, a theatre, classrooms and more.

Back when I was a student all the doors were always unlocked, but now it was mostly locked up, but I was able to get in.

I looked around a bit and went up to the second floor open plaza that runs between the many buildings of the complex.

My Sophomore year room was on the third floor to the far right

People either like or hate their design, maybe a bit futuristic at the time it opened, but the complex is still unique.

Many memories and stories, a few of which I have already shared here, came flooding back.

The huge multi-Theatre Arts Center was only a dream when I was a student there.

I was there last year for some workshops and had to laugh when I saw a few bits of equipment there were still there from my days a student.

The Set under construction in the UB Scene Shop

Last Friday I drove to Buffalo to pick up the set and returned it to Brockport where we unloaded it.

Over the next few weeks we will paint it, set it up, have a few rehearsals on it, then take the set down and truck it to Geva Theatre Center for a few performances.

Then we take it down and truck it back again to Brockport for a two week run in our Lab Theatre.

The set onstage at Brockport

When we are done with this production the set will have travel more then I have in the past few months.

Back to Work

It did not snow all the time and we did have time to work on many plays that year.
I enjoyed that I did many different jobs on the plays, not always doing the same thing.
As noted earlier during my Junior year at UB I worked as the Lighting Designer for Harold Pinter’s “Old Times", Technical Director for Euripides’ “The Bacchae” and the Stage Manager for Eric Bentley’s “From the Memories of Piteous Pilate” in addition to helping out on several other plays and dance concerts.

One of the lighting effects that people enjoyed in “Old Times” was the result of the set design and not my work.
The box set had a raked floor that ran upstage to the back of the Theatre and used the real window in the wall as part of the set.

Pinter's “Old Times”

It was high enough off the ground so people would not look in but you could see the lighted windows of other nearby building, street lights and even a stop light if you sat in the right seat.

Somehow the fuzzy seats used on the set ended up in our house after the play.

They were not really that comfortable put still fun to play with as you could flip them so you could sit from either end.
During the play plywood sides had been added to stop them from rocking.

As Technical Director for “The Bacchea” I enjoyed working with the Scenic Designer, a fellow student, and drafting out the working drawings, many of which I still have.
This is well before AutoCAD and all the work was done with hand drafting.
I starting drafting in high school and really enjoyed it, even winning an award at graduation as the best draftsman along with a special technical theatre award.

The Bacchea

It was during “The Bacchea” that an incident happened that changed the atmosphere for the rest of the school year.
A group of us had just come back from lunch in the student union.
There was some time to kill before the afternoon work call so I went into the tech office to work on the drafting for the play.
Unfortunately some of my friends choose to go to the basement smoke some Wacky Tabacki before the work call.
Of course they got caught by the faculty Technical Director and the two who worked for the department were fired.
I felt bad for them but I had to get on with the work on the show.

The set was a mix of ramps and platforms ay various angles and heights.
I had a hard time calculating all the leg heights because of the overlapping platforms in the design.
There were a few mistakes but easily fixed as we put the set in.

Just a year or two before we had lots of naked people onstage, (and backstage too) but by the time we did this show the cast was less willing to be naked in public.
The costume designer had designed costumes for the women in the chorus that were to be made of just a few layers of gauze and netlike material with the actresses naked underneath.
They were not happy and wanted to wear bodysuits under the costumes.
The designer said she did not want them to wear anything under the costume but said she would add a few more layers for modesty sake.
Well the actresses were still not happy and even more layers were added and the final costumes were very ugly highlighted by masks that had been crocheted.
Greek theatre does not always play too well today, but when the chorus came on the looked like a bunch of ragamuffins, and far from the sexy Bacchantes in the Designer’s vision, many people had to laugh.

Snow, Fun and even more Snow

In the fall of 1976 I was living in Clement Hall on the South campus of UB.

My roommate from the year before (a Theatre major) and two friends (one from his hometown and another Theatre major) rented half a house a few blocks from campus on Minnesota Avenue.

One day in the fall I went to visit them and it is best to always assume that it was a cold and snowy day during that year, but more about the Blizzard of ’77 later.

When I was about to leave another friend of one of the house mates was leaving also so we walked together.

She was a black woman who happened to be a lesbian, why both facts are important to know coming up below.

I will call her Vivian for this story.

We walked the mile or so back to the campus and chose to cut through the Student Union to warm up.

As we came to the Ballroom we saw that there was a party going on inside and two black men were “working” the door.

Back then there always was a party somewhere on campus and always lots to drink.

One of the men was my RA and the other was the president of the Black Student Government who happened to be a Theatre major.

They were happy to see me and happy that I was with a black woman , but I was not going to try to explain our relationship to them.

The party was for minority Freshman and the first drink was free.

I was neither but they gave us both a handful of drink tickets and invited us in.

Well we both went in and enjoyed a few drinks.

I do not know how long Vivian and I stayed and I do not remember how much we drank, but I am sure we had a good time.

I did not see much more of Vivian’s as her friend moved out of the Minnesota house a few weeks later and I moved in the middle of January just in time for the Blizzard of ’77.

We had a great time in that house the rest of the year.

Blizzard of ’77

By the End of 1976 Buffalo had set a new season record for snow fall.

All of the snow that came after the first of the New Year was “Bonus” snow.

Classes began in the middle of January and before the end of the first week there was a snow storm that closed the college for a few days.

We went back to school the next week but a few days later the Blizzard of ’77 hit, just in time for my 21st birthday.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes_Blizzard_of_1977

We had plenty of food and beer at our house and did not suffer.
We listened to music, drank and had a good time staying in as there was no place open to go if we wanted to anyway.

A few days after the storm my Grandfather passed away but there was no way I was going to get down to Long Island from Buffalo at that time.

It was fitting that he died during the Blizzard of ’77 as he was born during the Blizzard of ’88 (that is 1888 of course).

Slowly the town dug out and things got back to normal.

One of the first places we ventured out to was the corner bar just a block or two away.

I was in the bar with one of my housemates when my old roommate from the dorm from which I had just moved out of came in.

He was already very drunk, something that he did too often.

No more then five minutes later the bouncer violently threw him out the front door.

I jumped up to see if I could save him from a beating.

My new house mate found his coat and we walked him back to the dorm.

I never found out why he was thrown out, I assumed he must have vomited or stumbled into the ladies room or a bit of both.

So through three feet of snow we walked him back over a mile to his dorm and then walked all the way back to our house.

I am not sure I could do it all today, but when you are 21 years old it is all just a great adventure and lots of fun.