Staff Profile: Stage Manager Angelina Pellini

 

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Emory Dance Program stage manager Angelina Pellini began her career in college. As a freshman dance major at Kennesaw State, she auditioned for her program’s fall concert but ended up being assigned to work for the crew. She fell in love with backstage work and became more and more involved in technical production. Although she explored several different avenues of production, stage management was where she felt that she belonged the most and is the career she chose to pursue after college.

Kristin O'Neal teaches an online class.

This year, Pellini helped equip the Schwartz Center Dance Studio to stream online classes. Since college dance classes aren’t intended to be online, Pellini says that she is “moving through a lot of uncharted territory. There were challenges at times, but Greg (Catellier), Kendall (Simpson), and I were all committed to offering Emory students the best online dance experience possible.” The studio now has multiple microphones so the instructors and accompanists can be clearly heard by the students and two webcams that are run through a program called OBS to offer both front and side views of the instructor. There is also a large projection screen for the instructors to view the students during class and give corrections in real time. Although online courses have been one response to COVID-19, Pellini believes that online classes, dance films, and site-specific work will continue to be the way of the world for a while and allow a larger audience to be reached. “You can now take class from people on the other side of the world that you would have never met. People can view performances that they never would have been able to see (both because of geographical restrictions and ticket prices),” Pellini says. Pellini also assists with site-specific pieces for the Emory Dance Company. She says that her role is similar to what she usually does for Emory Dance Company, and includes supporting the production needs for each project, helping transport and set up any gear, run sound cues, keeping track of the schedule, and making sure that all dancers are where they need to be.” One difference in site-specific performances is the lack of theatrical lighting. In addition, Pellini must set up a portable sound system and/or instruments for live music while also keeping the audience socially distant. “I help manage that by placing markers on the ground or rearranging furniture.” During these performances, she has noticed that on-campus students passing by stop and witness performances that they “…never would have known anything about had it taken place in Schwartz.”

Musicians and tech equipment during a dress rehearsal

Due to COVID-19, Emory Dance Company dancers have been unable to participate in required tech hours, which is a time where dancers engage with the technical portion of their performance. However, in a normal environment, it is important for students to learn about production. “Participating in tech hours helps give students a foundational knowledge of technical theater elements and develop a base level vocabulary of important terminology.” Also, by understanding the process, students are more likely to appreciate crew members and respect what they do. Communication skills can also improve as dancers learn how to collaborate with designers and stage managers in a professional setting. Pellini says “These are important skills for students who wish to become professional performers, choreographers, or directors. Being aware of how things in a theater work also makes you more likely to keep yourself safe as a performer, and less likely to do something detrimental to the show.” For dancers interested in perusing stage management, Pellini has some advice: “I would encourage them to take as many classes as they can while in college to get a good foundational knowledge of production in general, but also to keep in mind that they will learn the most from experience.” She also recommends getting involved in shows, shadowing stage managers, and looking for production internships. “Every company, every venue, and every show are a little different and brings unique challenges and that teach you something new and add to your skill set.” Pellini also mentioned the importance of learning from others: “Every stage manager has their own routine, practice, and tricks. When you are developing yourself as a stage manager, I think it’s important to work under as many different stage managers as you can. Pay attention to what they do well and what could be done better and ingrain those lessons into your own manifesto.”

Angelina Pellini (rear) provides technical support for a performance.

Staff Profile: Costume Designer Cyndi Church

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Emory Dance Program costume designer Cyndi Church works closely with choreographers to create pieces that are creative, practical, and innovative. “Designing is fueled by a passion that excites and provokes your thoughts in ways that you want to get lost in and dive a little deeper each opportunity you have to design.”

This fall, abiding by COVID-19 restrictions, Emory Dance Company choreographers created site-specific pieces in spaces that can accommodate a small, physically distanced audience. This provided a new challenge for Church since she usually designs costumes for the theater rather than outdoor spaces. Church says, “At times there are unavoidable obstacles, like dancers need to wear shoes or something protective for their knees/hands. So, the challenge is to work that into the design in a way that isn’t just a functional need. Site-specific can also open a whole door of creative possibilities to ponder in the design process. The costuming can lean into the space and bring forward ideas.”

Church began her career by “…investing in what interested me and just giving my time to what I wanted to one day spend my days doing. One might say that the little girl in me has always been a control freak and so as she grew up in the arts, she needed to control everything, even the ‘look.’” Over the years, Church has learned many lessons that have strengthened her skills in the craft of costume design. One of the most valuable lessons is how to balance costume construction and creativity. “Creativity is one thing, but if you can’t think through the nuts and bolts of a design you have imagined, it probably will have setbacks, keeping it from functioning on a moving body.” She also learned from a mentor to celebrate the “flops” —the “moments when you put in the hardest work and in the end, you are beyond underwhelmed.” This has helped Church to overcome her fear of failure when starting a new project.

As a costume designer, Church often must collaborate with choreographers to create clothing that works for the dancers’ bodies as well as the movement. Each project brings new discoveries about collaboration. For a successful partnership, costume makers “...shouldn’t put themselves in a box of  “’I can be whatever designer you want me to be.’” Church also makes sure her role is clearly defined when she begins working with a choreographer —is she a costume designer or a costume coordinator? She says both roles are of equal value in the world of dance making and both bring a sense of accomplishment to the project. “Costume coordinating may have fewer design opportunities but still has many doors for creative working and problem-solving.”

 

Church believes that all dancers should have knowledge of basic costume repair and the ability to make easy adjustments to a costume. For dancers interested in exploring costume design, Church says that “…design is sometimes the ability to make a choice and go with it. But it also can be much more thoughtful and dives into resources of creativity that are skills nurtured and developed over time.” To become more involved, dancers should spend time in the costume shop to explore and create. “Just like all the outside work that goes into mastering a craft, it takes some individual investments to acquire those skills that surround and support the arts.”