It's not as tight as it looks, actually. There's a chair beside the bass sax that's unoccupied during the show. It's in use in the other musical that we share the theatre with.
My new pit gig for the summer of 2008
- Thread starter Merlin
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It's not as tight as it looks, actually. There's a chair beside the bass sax that's unoccupied during the show. It's in use in the other musical that we share the theatre with.
Pretty typical of most below-grade pit setups that I've used. Part of the problem is that all players get the same clearances, even though they may only be using a violin or trumpet. They eat the space that we with the six horns need, and they are not gracious about giving any of it up.
Come on you would love to have the space to spread out your feet too!
I can only imagine what you guys in the pit go through. The most horns I've had in front of me at any time has been three (alto, tenor, soprano) although playing bari and tenor in concert a couple of months ago took up more space. I only need the bari for one tune and there wasn't any complex switching. I literally played the whole tune on bari.
No one has been dumb enough to ask me to try and double on clarinet along with my saxes.
I can only imagine what you guys in the pit go through. The most horns I've had in front of me at any time has been three (alto, tenor, soprano) although playing bari and tenor in concert a couple of months ago took up more space. I only need the bari for one tune and there wasn't any complex switching. I literally played the whole tune on bari.
No one has been dumb enough to ask me to try and double on clarinet along with my saxes.
Hold on there, Violins have this thing called a bow, and it costs as much as any 2 clarinets. This thing is very fragile and to use it requires moving it about in this cramped space. To the best of my knowledge putting an instrument on and removing it from a stand requires floor space to facilitate the rapid changes called for as well as air space for those times an instrument is placed crosswise on the lap while playing a different instrument. Does this require space? Yes. Is the violins need for space any less valid? No.
All players do not get the same space. Could you imagine playing drums in the space used by you in your last pit gig? I don't do brass so I have no first hand knowledge as a player of the spatial necessities for optimal performance (a room back stage maybe?) but I was a music ed major for a period in college and learned to play all the horns, and in previous lives have been a symphony orchestra stage manager, an opera company orchestra manager, as well as a manager for various pit gigs in several states. I have spent many hours setting up cramped quarters for performances in which too many players were jammed into too small a space. Other than objects falling off the stage into the pit, no instrument has ever been damaged due to my setups and most instrument changes were readily accomplished. As a player, I play violin professionally as my main gig, when not teaching it. I am also fairly proficient as a reed player and percussionist and have performed numerous gigs on those instruments as well in pit and other venues.
All this said, the LAST people you want to begrudge space to is the string players. Generally they have the most notes to play as well as the most expensive/fragile instruments in the pit which project the least so they require greater numbers just to keep the sound balanced.
(FWIW I have played clarinet with a tenor sax on my lap and a bass clarinet leaned against my thigh in pits before, I HAVE been there.)
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A few friends of mine are playing Follies in Concert at the Shaw Festival later this summer.
Here's the WW book list from Bret's site:
Follies
1: Piccolo, flute, alto flute [optional], E-flat clarinet [optional], clarinet, soprano saxophone, alto saxophone
2: Piccolo [optional], flute [optional], clarinet, alto saxophone
3: Flute [optional], clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone
4: Oboe [optional], English horn [optional], clarinet
5: Flute [optional], clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon [optional], baritone saxophone
7 horns for the lead player!
Gotta luv the optional flute.
)
Gotta luv the optional flute.
The only options my flute has are the engraved lip plate and pad cups.
Had an interesting matinee today.
One of the pyro effects started a fire on part of the set - a clock that hangs over centre stage. The show got stopped for about 15 minutes while the tech crew lowered the clock, extinguished it, and cleaned up the stage.
The audience were generally amused by it.
One of the pyro effects started a fire on part of the set - a clock that hangs over centre stage. The show got stopped for about 15 minutes while the tech crew lowered the clock, extinguished it, and cleaned up the stage.
The audience were generally amused by it.
At least in Canada you can probably yell "fire" in a theater.
We're Canadian. We don't yell "fire" unless someone tells us it's OK to do it.
Ha ha.
Scary stuff, the fire. I'm not sure I understand the Canadian joke. Really, Canadians are really that meek? :???:
I guess it could be worse; you could be considered rude and uncultured like we Americans seem to be.
I guess it could be worse; you could be considered rude and uncultured like we Americans seem to be.
It's more like a riff on what Americans perceive Canadians to be.
One time, at a saxophone workshop in the southern US, I asked a friend of mine to "do something Canadian" to illustrate a point.
He said, "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."
The gathered throng erupted in laughter.
So yesterday, just as I take the bass sax off the stand, the horns holding the bell come away from the stand with the instrument.
I've been using one of those tubular folding bari stands modded for the bass. You know, by bending the thing to fit.
One of the tech guys backstage took the parts last nite and sent them to the festival's shop. The thing arrived back a half hour before today's show, beautifully brazed back together and repainted!
I've been using one of those tubular folding bari stands modded for the bass. You know, by bending the thing to fit.
One of the tech guys backstage took the parts last nite and sent them to the festival's shop. The thing arrived back a half hour before today's show, beautifully brazed back together and repainted!
If you see the book, America: The Book by Jon Stewart, there are a variety of sections by the The Daily Show's Canadian correspondent. They're entitled something like, "Pardon me: a Canadian viewpoint".