It started when Marc Beaudin at Pit & Balcony Theatre in Saginaw asked me to be the "sound tech" for the play Amadeus. Marc will be directing the show in addition to his official duties as theatres Technical Director. You oughta see the working forte piano Mark constructed for the set!
I was approached for the job, Marc says, because of my background in radio. He reasoned that since I've spent nearly thirty years mixing music in one form or another, that I might have the know how to build the complex music and sound pieces that he envisions. There are ordinary sound effects like clocks chiming the hour and at one point a murder of crows will fly over the heads of theatre goers. Most impressive however is the music mix. As mentioned, the forte piano really works and music magically escapes from Mozart's manuscripts.
I agreed to the job follwing the logic that, unlike having a role in play, the demands of sound tech would not be as great. I figured I could pop into rehearsals every once in a while to observe how things had progressed and see what sounds needed to be acquired, made or edited for next time. There is a lot to do in the spring time at the radio station... KCQ Country Music Fest preparations and promotion... Great Lakes Loons specials... KCQ Easy Money and other cash giveaways. I just couldn't afford to devote the amount of time necessary as someone who was playing a part in the play. I made that very clear to Marc and let him know I would stand firm in that decision.
So of course now I'll playing the role of Chamberlain von Strack... "a court official to his collar bone." The show opens Friday, May 16th. You can buy tickets on-line at the Pit & Balcony web site. Just make sure you ask for seats outside of the crow fly-zone if you know what I mean.
Cheers,
Kevin
SIDEBAR: I found out that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote one of his serenades for the benefit of Chamberlain von Strack. Serenade in Eb major K375 was composed in 1781 and was intended to curry favor with Herr von Strack. In a letter to his father, Mozart writes...
I wrote it for St Theresa’s Day, for Frau von Hickel’s sister, or rather the sister-in-law of Herr von Hickel, court painter, at whose house it was performed (October 15, 1781) for the first time. The six gentlemen who performed it are poor beggars, who however, play quite well together, especially the first clarinet and the two horns. But the chief reason why I composed it was in order to let Herr von Strack, who goes there every day, hear something of my composition; so I wrote it rather carefully.
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The Foreign Extra Stout is a dark, robust beer with lots of rich, malt flavor and just enough hops to keep it from being overly sweet. Most people think of Guinness when they think of Stout beers but Guinness is a Dry Stout which is much milder than what I have created.
