Wednesday, March 16, 2011
La Clemenze di Tito
Taking a mini break from doing alterations on the film I'm working on.. thought I'd share some of my final costume renderings from the opera designed for class this quarter. We were designing La Clemenze di Tito, an Italian opera seria written by Mozart in the late 18th century. I bumped my version forward a bit to around 1810-1815, and did a very stylized interpretation of Neoclassical revivalism. I also had to design the set and lights, which was a challenge to say the least, having no experience with either! Anyway, hope you enjoy the renderings! Now back to work for me..
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
New navigation system!
A quick note to mention that I installed a swanky new mouseover viewing system on the portfolio pages! Instead of clicking on each thumbnail, just mouseover each one you want to view and it will appear to the left! Let me know if there's anything not working properly and I'll fix it. :)
Portfolio updates include new photos of Copenhagen, and the trailer for Honest Cheat!
Portfolio updates include new photos of Copenhagen, and the trailer for Honest Cheat!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Copenhagen photos
Finally got photos of Copenhagen from the photographer this week! They came out really great, I'm very pleased with how these will look in my portfolio!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Upcoming projects..
Now that Copenhagen has closed, I have a few new things coming up!
- I'm working on the designs for my thesis show, The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother directed by Monica Payne. Monica and I had a great time working together on Elektra, so now we're teaming up again for this adaptation of the novella by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Monica has adapted the story for stage herself (ambitious!), and everything at this point suggests that it's going to be quite a spectacular show! We've been looking at a lot of steampunk, circus, and South American research, so we're working out how to combine all of those influences in a way that creates a world entirely our own. It opens May 21st and closes June 4th. See UCLA's website for dates and more info.
- Lil John, an AFI short film about a girl who meets a guy online who turns out to be only a few inches tall. Very cute, funny story! Excited to learn more about greenscreen techniques and forced perspective shots on this one..
- Silk, Sugar, and Shadows or Me and Mr Jones, a UCLA short film about a wealthy couple whose lives are infiltrated by a manipulative younger man. The cast is nearly all African American, and the concept is a very stylized contemporary world.
- For my "Collaborative Design" class, we're designing sets, lights, and costumes for Mozart's La Clemenze di Tito (The Clemency of Tito). It's my first chance to design for opera, as well as my first go at scenic design. Definitely proving to be challenging, but fun! My version is set in early 19th century Britain, during the Neoclassical revival.
- I'm working on the designs for my thesis show, The Incredible and Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother directed by Monica Payne. Monica and I had a great time working together on Elektra, so now we're teaming up again for this adaptation of the novella by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Monica has adapted the story for stage herself (ambitious!), and everything at this point suggests that it's going to be quite a spectacular show! We've been looking at a lot of steampunk, circus, and South American research, so we're working out how to combine all of those influences in a way that creates a world entirely our own. It opens May 21st and closes June 4th. See UCLA's website for dates and more info.
- Lil John, an AFI short film about a girl who meets a guy online who turns out to be only a few inches tall. Very cute, funny story! Excited to learn more about greenscreen techniques and forced perspective shots on this one..
- Silk, Sugar, and Shadows or Me and Mr Jones, a UCLA short film about a wealthy couple whose lives are infiltrated by a manipulative younger man. The cast is nearly all African American, and the concept is a very stylized contemporary world.
- For my "Collaborative Design" class, we're designing sets, lights, and costumes for Mozart's La Clemenze di Tito (The Clemency of Tito). It's my first chance to design for opera, as well as my first go at scenic design. Definitely proving to be challenging, but fun! My version is set in early 19th century Britain, during the Neoclassical revival.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Honest Cheat Trailer!
The trailer for Honest Cheat, the independent feature film I designed two years ago, was just released! Check it out and if you like it, please donate at http://www.indiegogo.com/TheHonestCheat. They're raising the money for pickup shots and post-production, hoping to get it out for festivals in the fall.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Copenhagen in the Daily Bruin!
Well, Copenhagen has opened and closed, and we got a nice writeup in the Daily Bruin!
I'll post some more official photos from the show once I get them from the photographer.
---------------------------------
UCLA students enact a conversation about nuclear research just before World War II in play ‘Copenhagen”
By ARIT JOHN
Published January 27, 2011 in A&E, Theater & Arts
Just as the chaos of World War II was about to break out in Europe, two friends and colleagues sat down to have a conversation in Copenhagen, Denmark, about the future of nuclear research.
Michael Frayn’s award-winning dramatization of the night’s events, “Copenhagen,” is being presented tonight by the UCLA theater department. Directing the play is Alex Levy, a candidate for a master’s in fine arts in directing.
“The play is about how collisions in history force us to decide what kind of world we’re going to have and what kind of world we’re going to live in,” Levy said.
Before beginning the MFA program at UCLA, Levy directed a theater company in Chicago. He returned to school after a 10-year hiatus to give himself the opportunity to experiment.
“I had a great company in Chicago, and I was very proud to work there and be a part of it, but as an artist, you’re always looking to stretch and to see what else you can do and to try new things,” Levy said.
Levy’s interest in “Copenhagen” arose out of the idea that nuclear physicists held the power to either improve or destroy the world. According to Levy, the play does not pass judgment so much as explore the way that man’s actions force decisions on the fate of the world.
“Copenhagen” is structured around the 1941 meeting between Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, two leaders in atomic research. Though the conversation is shrouded in mystery, it is believed that Heisenberg said something about the ability to create nuclear weapons, but the specifics of that conversation, as well as Bohr’s response, are unknown, Levy said.
“What is historically known is that in 1941, Werner Heisenberg came to occupied Denmark to have a conversation with Niels Bohr,” Levy said. “What was said during that conversation is the leaping-off point for this play.”
The play follows a non-linear format. It jumps around chronologically between various important moments in Heisenberg and Bohr’s relationship.
“We go through different parts of history that illuminate what these two men went through,” said Jake Rude, a third-year student who plays Niels Bohr. “We actually start in 1941 and then we’ll jump to 1947 and then we’ll go back to 1922, and it just bounces all over the place.”
The play centers around the evolving relationship among three historical figures: Werner Heisenberg, played by third-year Robert Rushin; Niels Bohr, played by Rude; and Bohr’s wife Margrethe, played by fourth-year Heather Kellogg. All three are theater students with acting concentrations.
Though Bohr and Heisenberg are the major historical figures in the play, Margrethe Bohr’s character is just as prominent as the men in the play.
Kellogg said she is an observer who pushes thoughts through to the other characters. Her character works to remind the men of the rough patches in their relationship.
“My relationship with Heisenberg is that he was someone that came into our house and worked with Niels but … it wasn’t a good time. A lot of great physics came out of it, but it was (a time of) jealousy and tears,” Kellogg said.
As the only actors in the play, much of “Copenhagen’s” success lies with Rude, Rushin and Kellogg. These roles depend on the actors’ abilities to handle being on stage for the entire play and perform on many different levels because the three must carry the play, Levy said.
“It’s quite a challenge for actors who are decades into their careers to pull off these roles, so for these three young actors, it’s really amazing watching them take on the challenge,” Levy said.
Part of the difficulty of portraying these characters lies in the pressure the script puts on the actors to represent jumps in time. Though the play covers several decades, there are no costume changes, no dramatic make-up changes or any attempts to age the characters.
“It’s not necessarily about the physical transformation from time to time, because this whole show is kind of a memory play. It’s all taking place in this unexplained, amorphous environment. It really comes down to our understanding of it emotionally, not necessarily physically,” Rushin said.
“Copenhagen” is also about exploring morality. Bohr and Heisenberg both worked extensively on atomic research – Heisenberg was ostracized for his research done for the Nazis, and Bohr worked with the American team that created the first atomic bomb. The play explores the way people determine right and wrong.
“I think what (the play) does is ask us questions that show us the way morality is judged is relative,” Levy said. “I think it challenges us to examine the world more than tells us where to go.”
---------------------------------
“Copenhagen”
Jan. 27-29 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.
Freud Playhouse, FREE
I'll post some more official photos from the show once I get them from the photographer.
---------------------------------
UCLA students enact a conversation about nuclear research just before World War II in play ‘Copenhagen”
By ARIT JOHN
Published January 27, 2011 in A&E, Theater & Arts
Just as the chaos of World War II was about to break out in Europe, two friends and colleagues sat down to have a conversation in Copenhagen, Denmark, about the future of nuclear research.
Michael Frayn’s award-winning dramatization of the night’s events, “Copenhagen,” is being presented tonight by the UCLA theater department. Directing the play is Alex Levy, a candidate for a master’s in fine arts in directing.
“The play is about how collisions in history force us to decide what kind of world we’re going to have and what kind of world we’re going to live in,” Levy said.
Before beginning the MFA program at UCLA, Levy directed a theater company in Chicago. He returned to school after a 10-year hiatus to give himself the opportunity to experiment.
“I had a great company in Chicago, and I was very proud to work there and be a part of it, but as an artist, you’re always looking to stretch and to see what else you can do and to try new things,” Levy said.
Levy’s interest in “Copenhagen” arose out of the idea that nuclear physicists held the power to either improve or destroy the world. According to Levy, the play does not pass judgment so much as explore the way that man’s actions force decisions on the fate of the world.
“Copenhagen” is structured around the 1941 meeting between Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr, two leaders in atomic research. Though the conversation is shrouded in mystery, it is believed that Heisenberg said something about the ability to create nuclear weapons, but the specifics of that conversation, as well as Bohr’s response, are unknown, Levy said.
“What is historically known is that in 1941, Werner Heisenberg came to occupied Denmark to have a conversation with Niels Bohr,” Levy said. “What was said during that conversation is the leaping-off point for this play.”
The play follows a non-linear format. It jumps around chronologically between various important moments in Heisenberg and Bohr’s relationship.
“We go through different parts of history that illuminate what these two men went through,” said Jake Rude, a third-year student who plays Niels Bohr. “We actually start in 1941 and then we’ll jump to 1947 and then we’ll go back to 1922, and it just bounces all over the place.”
The play centers around the evolving relationship among three historical figures: Werner Heisenberg, played by third-year Robert Rushin; Niels Bohr, played by Rude; and Bohr’s wife Margrethe, played by fourth-year Heather Kellogg. All three are theater students with acting concentrations.
Though Bohr and Heisenberg are the major historical figures in the play, Margrethe Bohr’s character is just as prominent as the men in the play.
Kellogg said she is an observer who pushes thoughts through to the other characters. Her character works to remind the men of the rough patches in their relationship.
“My relationship with Heisenberg is that he was someone that came into our house and worked with Niels but … it wasn’t a good time. A lot of great physics came out of it, but it was (a time of) jealousy and tears,” Kellogg said.
As the only actors in the play, much of “Copenhagen’s” success lies with Rude, Rushin and Kellogg. These roles depend on the actors’ abilities to handle being on stage for the entire play and perform on many different levels because the three must carry the play, Levy said.
“It’s quite a challenge for actors who are decades into their careers to pull off these roles, so for these three young actors, it’s really amazing watching them take on the challenge,” Levy said.
Part of the difficulty of portraying these characters lies in the pressure the script puts on the actors to represent jumps in time. Though the play covers several decades, there are no costume changes, no dramatic make-up changes or any attempts to age the characters.
“It’s not necessarily about the physical transformation from time to time, because this whole show is kind of a memory play. It’s all taking place in this unexplained, amorphous environment. It really comes down to our understanding of it emotionally, not necessarily physically,” Rushin said.
“Copenhagen” is also about exploring morality. Bohr and Heisenberg both worked extensively on atomic research – Heisenberg was ostracized for his research done for the Nazis, and Bohr worked with the American team that created the first atomic bomb. The play explores the way people determine right and wrong.
“I think what (the play) does is ask us questions that show us the way morality is judged is relative,” Levy said. “I think it challenges us to examine the world more than tells us where to go.”
---------------------------------
“Copenhagen”
Jan. 27-29 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 29 at 2 p.m.
Freud Playhouse, FREE
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