Studio Shots: The Shaw Festival Props Shop - Details

Last week, the Shaw Festival Props shop had a potluck!! It was a nice chance to gather with a bunch of people working in various shops that I may not get to see very often, and of course, the props shop is a very cool looking space to work.  One of the things I love about the Shaw shops is the sense of humor they show in the display of retired props, posters, and in some cases, black velvet paintings all found curbside.  I also love the practical tools, of course (check out the other studio shots posts for proof: Paradigm Designs, my studio), the metal, the wood and even the dust.

I couldn't resist taking out my camera for a couple minutes like a weirdo (like I do) and snapping a couple details while the potluck winded down.

--Erin

Life As Of Late: Working Holiday and Faking It Till You Make It

Ephraim has bought me more flowers than I've received my whole life over! And certainly they are the most beautiful bouquets

My vacation from work is slowly coming to a close, and I can hardly believe it.  Where have the weeks gone? For that matter, how am I going to finish reading these plays?! I'm going to have to turn to hypnopaedic methods to cram the last few in! Or, you know, lazy mornings while I'm in Quebec next weekend.  Ephraim tends to be a later riser than me, and sometimes I take this as a good excuse to stay in bed and snooze and cuddle, but other mornings I just want to GO GO GO.  Instead, I will READ READ READ and SIP SIP SIP some tea.

Actually that sounds pretty heavenly.  If I were a day timer kind of person, I would write that down in my daily itinerary. 

Congratulatory flowers to celebrate the opening of my first realized design for The Shaw Festival

I'm just finding it so difficult to believe that I'm about to begin my second season at The Shaw Festival.  I always hoped to be there for another season (or two!), but it doesn't quite feel like a reality yet.  None of my life feels that real right now, and maybe that's because things are running pretty smoothly for a change.  I've gotten pretty used to living from one disaster to the next, so this smooth sailing has got me on my toes; does something terrible lay in wait around the corner? Or did my hard work pay off (or did I just get really lucky??).  

I'm excited for the challenges and growth this next season will bring, and am particularly pumped to get started on model building straight away when I return.  Maquette building has been the area in which I grew the most in the last year, and I constantly surprised myself with my ability to achieve realistic and proportional model furniture and rooms at such a small scale (1/2" = 1').  There are so many skills I want to develop in my time at the Shaw, and the faith they have in me never ceases to both comfort and alarm me.  I'm faking my way through so much.  But maybe that's just what the whole game is.   

I've also been invited to my old University to talk to the first year theatre students about my life after York University, as part of a panel of alumni.  I remember idolizing Jeff Churchill of Jitterbug Boy Original Footwear (where I was lucky enough to work for a short time) from the instant he walked on stage when I attended the same lecture in first year.  I leaned over to my best friend and said "that guy.  I want to be that guy.  Look how cool his shoes are!".  Then we learned that he had hand crafted those shoes himself.  How can I possibly be as inspiring as him? How can the university hold my career path in the same ball park, let alone the same auditorium? I don't feel that I'm there yet, and I certainly have a long way to go till I "make it". But I really hope this is telling of the things to come.

O.O.T.D: His and Hers - Blazing Saddles

I do a rubbish Vanna White impression

Here's my little ensemble that I wore to the opening of The Directors Project last week.  I love this blazer that I picked up last year! I bought it on a shopping trip to the states, and I actually tore all the tags off and wore it back over the border, haha! I may have spent a liiiiittle too much money stateside, and tried to lessen the duty I was going to have to pay any way I could.  Devious, I know! 

Ephraim made his way to NotL later that afternoon, and just happened to be wearing a blazer he recently picked up from Topman! I have been terrible about talking him into buying clothes.  His wardrobe has grown quite a bit in size since we've been together! But hey, I appreciate how different I feel wearing clothes I love and feel like a million bucks in, and for an actor, that kind of confidence can be important.  Besides, I love mens fashion, and I have taken full advantage of dating a man who has style.  So sue me!

Argh, fake pockets!!

The Deets:

Blazer: Anthropologie

Lace/Jersey Dress: H&M

Village Skirt: Anthropologie

Tights: TopShop

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell

Purse: Michael Kors 

Don't be fooled, he's making fun of me being a photographer.  "Oooh! Ooooh, pout, yeeeess!!"

Ephraim is better at jumping shots than I.  But not by much!

The Deets:

Blazer: Topman

Button Up Shirt: Topman

Jeans: Levi's

Belt: Vintage

Belt Buckle: Custom Engraved

Cowboy Boots: Hand-Me-Downs

Have you ever accidentally coordinated outfits with your S.O? I promise, this isn't the first time it's happened to me, nor is it the least embarrassing example!

--Erin

The Directors Project: Production Photos

Senora Carrar's Rifles

Gray Powell as Pedro, Beau Dixon as Foley Artist, Ben Sanders as Jose

Sharry Flett as Old Mrs. Perez, Wendy Thatcher as Theresa Carrar

Alana Hibbert as Manuela

Benedict Campbell as Father Francisco

Ben Sanders as Jose

FourPlay

If Men Played Cards As Women Do

Peter Millard as John, Kevin Bundy as Bob, Neil Barclay as George, Martin Happer as Mark

Neil Barclay as George, Martin Happer as Mark, Peter Millard as John, Kevin Bundy as Bob

Overtones 

Julia Course as Harriet, Claire Jullien as Hetty

Kiera Sangster as Maggie, Ijeoma Emesowum as Margaret

Julia Course as Harriet, Kiera Sangster as Maggie, Claire Jullien as Hetty, Ijeoma Emesowum as Margaret

Claire Jullien as Hetty, Julia Course as Harriet, Ijeoma Emesowum as Margaret, Kiera Sangster as Maggie

Claire Jullien as Hetty, Kiera Sangster as Maggie

All photos by Mark Callan.

Set and Costume Designs by Erin Gerofsky.
Lighting Designs by Conor Moore.
Neil Munro Shaw Festival 2012 Intern Directors: Michael Wheeler and Krista Jackson.

If you want to read more about the costume designs, check out my post on the Praxis Theatre Blog HERE

To see more about the process of painting the floor cloth (yeah guys, that's not real wood!), check out my post HERE

--Erin

Life As Of Late: The Directors Project (and completely unrelated photos)

I know, that's a picture of a branch and some berries, not a photo of anything theatre related.  But, well, I don't have a release to share any of the photos from the show yet, so I'm sharing these instead!

At long last, yesterday morning, The Directors Project opened! 

Our first performance was for Shaw Festival company members only, and it was a really great show.  The environment of people coming to support their fellow company members is just awesome.  So warm, inviting, and downright fun.  It was pretty amazing to be a part of, even if I was hiding in the back of the theatre with the directors and the lighting designer (mingling is scary, and, in fact, for lame people. FACT.)

Today we perform again, for more assorted company members as well as Shaw Governors Council members, and some special invited guests.  It's strange being such a major part of a production which, though it is small in budget and size (and run, let's be honest), it is so chock full of incredibly talented and experienced individuals.  And then there's me.  My bio (which accompanies my head shot in the lobby) is roughly 3 lines long, only about 1/3 as long as everyone else's.

And I know that should freak me out.

But mostly I'm just grateful to have had such big opportunities so early into my career.

Here's hoping it's all up from here!

--Erin

I think this wall would make such a great backdrop for outfit posts! Too bad it's the side of someone's house...

My Weekend in Retro Specs v.9

Happy Monday, everybody!

Today's a busy one, as we're getting into Tech for the Directors Project.  Long days ahead, but opening (and the end) are in sight! 

I spent my Saturday at the festival, spending most of my time in the studio theatre as the lighting designer built lighting looks for the shows.  It's always magical to see a set under show lights for the first time.  The way you can create atmosphere and temperature with light has always fascinated me.  I think if I could I would be a triple threat designer and do lighting too.  I just want to do everything though, haha! I'd have 7 jobs if I could manage it all.

I had Sunday off, as a little surprise! I caught up with a good friend who recently returned from a trip to Japan, and worked on a little purse makeover I hope to finish and photograph later today.  It's a project I've had in the back of my mind for a long time, and it's nice to know I'm only hours away from having one of my favourite purses be usable again....but I've said too much.  You'll see later in the week!

I also made some new banners for this feature this weekend! I couldn't decide on one I liked best, so I made a couple.  Maybe I'll just circulate them, because I'm indecisive.  Hmm.

Well, I'm off to work.  It feels like a 3 cups of tea day.

--Erin

The Directors Project: Story of a Floor Cloth

Happy Sunday everybody!

I have today off as we can no longer run some tech elements at rehearsal today! It's a nice little surprise, and I can spend today working on some of my own things at home; and sleep.  Yeah.  Sleep and drink tea.  Mmm. 

Anyhow, while I'm waiting for my buddy Jamie to pick me up to head to IHOP for brunch deliciousness, I thought I'd compile all the progress shots of the floor cloth for the Directors Project into one post. 

The Directors Projects (or DP for short) operates, basically, kind of like Fringe theatre productions.  Basically, we have to stay as close to "neutral" with the physical space as possible, as both shows use the same theatre and only have a changeover time of about 20 minutes.  When we first began this project, we thought about using a black floor, but soon decided that a wooden floor would be appropriate for both shows, and would help us define a playing space (the studio theatre is huge this year, it's a lot of empty space to fill!), and warm things up a bit.  

It took a little while for the reality of this endeavor to really hit us, but it certainly hit us hard as we realized that our time was very tight, and we only had so many floor cloths or pieces of fabric large enough (38' across!! Huge!) to use for our floor treatment.  as you can see in the photos below, we ended up painting over the sky portion of a backdrop of the Manhattan skyline.  Waste not!

The floor cloth was painted over the course of about 4.5 days, and was painted by myself with some much appreciated volunteer help from the generous and understanding artistic team. Here are some progress photos and explanations of what we did. 

a patchy base coat / the chalked out angle of the edge of the floor boards

Floor boards drawn in Sharpie / cut up wide brushes and dark brown paint create wood grain. Some boards repainted cream for consistency.

We used a warm and cool brown in patches to achieve this look / all board lines drawn with "straight liners".  7' long 2"x4" with a handle.

Wood grain without and with brown wash.  Wood grain strokes ran 3' (the board length)

Dark brown lines added between board lengths for depth / waxy glaze added for durability and sheen.  Dries clear.

Cut down, installed and with the edges of the boards blacked out.  Work lights reflecting off the glaze, sorry!

This was the first time I have ever painted a wooden floor, and I would totally do it again, I am thrilled with the results! This could be a neat way to finish a concrete floor!

--Erin

Costuming the Shaw Festival Directors Project

Happy Friday everyone!
As the Directors Project continues to consume my brain, my life, and everything in general, it is only natural that I should blog about it, yes? Yes!

So, today I have an article over at Praxis Theatre's blog, talking about the process of designing and sourcing costumes for the Directors Project.

I think it's worth checking it out just for the costume renderings, but hey, of course I'd say that, I painted them!

--Erin

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

My Weekend in Retro Specs v.6: Occupy NOTL

Howdy friends, and happy Monday!

This past weekend was a real blast.  I had a couple friends staying with me, so naturally there was much good food, some wine, some cheese, lots of laughter, the good stuff, ya know?

Some highlights:

• Friends from different points in my life all hanging out together, getting friendly themselves
• Wine and cheese!  7 year old cheddar.  Hell. Yes.
• Treating my friends to a play.
• Breakfast Massacre: Niagara Edition
• Getting to make good use of my waffle iron at said massacre.  Tasty tasty carnage.
• Talking and laughing till 4 am.
• The most delicious of frozen chocolate peanut butter pies.
• Receiving a skein of wool that my friend Caroline made! I'm talking cleaned the wool, spun into yarn with a spinning wheel and then hand dyed, all using techniques predating 1860.  Hardcore!!

I kept my camera in my purse and a smile on my face.  It really is the little things. 

LOGWOOD CHIPS MAKE THINGS PURPLE.  Natural dyes are weird, and totally cool.  BTW, logwood, is more than just logs of wood.  We learned this weekend!

I am so ridiculously impressed by this being even possible, let alone one of my friends doing this as her job.  If you visit Black Creek Pioneer Village, be sure to pick up some of Caroline's yarn from the gift shop. I hear they have trouble keeping the stuff in stock, and now that I have my own skein, I can see why! so cool!

In preparation for cooler temperatures, I think I'm going to use the yarn to make some boot toppers, though I think I'll need another skein.  I've totally given up on ever figuring out the heel turn, so socks are officially out of the question.  I'm not much of a knitter, but I'm learning! 

In other news, a year ago this evening I had the most amazing and ridiculously long (8.5 HOURS) first date.  Thankfully we went to a 24 hour coffee shop and bistro, because no where else would allow us to have just sat and talked and drank coffee/tea for 8 hours.  Well I suppose at some point we did order dinner, but we also witnessed a couple shift changes.

Needless to say, it has been a really, really, really great year.  I can't wait to celebrate with Ephraim next weekend!

But first, I have an insane work week to tackle.

--Erin

O.O.T.D: Helen's Necklace

This past weekend the Shaw Festival had its final round of openings for this season! This is the outfit I put together for the last show to open of the season, Helen's Necklace.  The show is a two-hander, which is unusual for Shaw, and takes place in Jordan, which is also unusual! In the play, Helen is backtracking her steps through Jordan trying to find a "lighter-than-air" pearl necklace that she has lost.  The show featured outstanding performances by Sanjay Talwar and Tara Rosling, and particularly effecting lighting design that really helped to define the locations in Judith Bowden's cavernous set.  It was definitely not like anything I've seen at Shaw before, and I like the the company is so dedicated to shaking things up; even if only in its studio theatre space.  Likewise, it was cool to see something mounted in this space, as I am designing 2 shows which will play in the studio theatre in late September! In fact, we have our design presentations and first read through tomorrow.  Exciting!!

The Deets:

Dress: Thirfted

Tights:Filene's Basement

Shoes: Hand-me-downs (Bubie)

Bracelet: self made

Earrings: Vintage

Belt: Urban Outfitters

Necklace: Hand-me-down (Mum)

This outfit features not one but two hand-me-downs.  I love getting people's old things! I'm lucky enough to have women in my family with very distinguished  - and very different - senses of style.  When they decide a piece just doesn't work with enough of their things, they give them to me because they know I NEVER say no! Even if I cut that old jacket up and use the fabric to make a pillow cover, I can't let a good piece of clothing (or jewelry! or shoes!) go straight to the landfill or thrift store or whatever.  All items must make a stay in my closet first.  Do not pass GO, do not collect $200. 

Do you get the hand-me-downs in your family? Love it or loathe it?

--Erin

Le Dîner en Blanc

Diners, ASSEMBLE! 1000 diners set up their all-white tables on Queen street

Last night I was very lucky to be invited along to Dîner en Blanc, a flash-mob style picnic! The Dîner started in Paris in 1988, and has since been recreated in cities across North America.  The event is exclusive, semi-secret, and arguably, the ultimate gastronomic picnic experience! It was certainly the most beautiful picnic I have ever been to.

The concept is simple: You reserve a table of 8 people, with one table captain.  At 8:00 pm Dîner night, the captain receives a text message revealing the secret location! Tables and chairs are provided and wine was pre-ordered from several of the fabulous local wineries.  The diners however must provide all the wares, and of course the food! Competitive natures come out as each table tries to decorate magnificent tables with design elements all in white.

NotL's main street glowed last night.  I was thrilled to be one of the 1000 diners taking part.  Here are some of my favourite shots from last night...it was pretty easy to get snap-happy! I specifically denied myself the ability to walk around and photograph other participants tables, or I'd have run out of memory before we even served dinner.  Oh well, there's always next year!

To finish off the night, everyone got a sparkler to light at 11 pm.  1000 sparklers! It was beautiful.

Does your town do A Dîner en Blanc? Wouldn't it be fun to arrange something like this with a group of friends? Dîner en Rouge, Jaune, ou Bleu anyone?

--Erin