Life as of Late: The Directors Project

Life lately has been hectic, to say the least.  It's been a lot of speed up, speed up, and all I want is to slow DOWN already! To say I'm feeling a bit burnt out right now is a pretty big understatement.  And as I begin to make some travel plans for my vacation coming up at the end of September, I really just wish this next month would be over in a snap so I could just stop feeling like I'm running a marathon every day.  This lack of a summer business is a hard adjustment straight out of University, despite the fact that I always worked full time on my summers.  For those 4 months, I was almost always working jobs that I could walk away from every night.  Design work isn't like that.  I didn't get into a profession, so much as a lifestyle!

These past few weeks and the weeks ahead have and are dedicated to the realization of The Director's Project, a short series of one act plays Directed by the two Intern Directors that Shaw employs each year.  If you'd like to hear about this process from the Directors' side (and trust me, you do, they're both very talented, creative individuals), you can check out their blog HERE.

The projects are sort of a Fringe festival style affair, intended to focus on the acting and the story.  Naturally, everyone involved gets very excited throughout the process and things grow to be much more than this.  I am thrilled to have these pieces as a part of my growing portfolio, but hell if getting these up and running won't kill me! Shaw provides a limited budget and some labour, but many of the tasks still trickle down the ladder and fall on yours truly.

So, the last few weeks have been all about creating a cohesive look for each show.  We've finally dived head first into the process of costume fittings, and it's been amazing to see a really clear trend rise out of the pieces I picked from the warehouse along with Shaw's head of wardrobe, Tanya.  I've been lucky that many of my first choice items have worked out and made their way into the show.

I'm far from out of the woods yet, however.  I'm spending most of the coming week in the paint shop, working on a floor treatment, and painting a couple set pieces.  I love this hands on work, and really enjoyed my time in the paint shop previously.  If you're following me on Instagram (@efgerofsky), be prepared for LOTS of snaps of our progress getting everything painted.  I tend to get really excited about these kinds of things, and the instant gratification of a coat of paint is a great motivator!

--Erin