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La Boheme

La Boheme, directed by Mo Zhou, was one of two productions I worked on under Music Academy of the West's vocal institute. Taking a twist on Puccini's classic, our version of the opera was set in 2011 New York City, yet still sung in its original Italian language. It was reflective of Rent, where La Boheme was the actual source material.

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This production held two major milestones for me: working in a union house, and working with a children's chorus.

La Boheme was performed at The Granada Theater in Santa Barbara, California which is home to a wonderful IATSE crew. Being in a backstage space for the first time, and not being able to touch anything, was certainly a different experience than I was used to. Because of all the house rules, it allowed me to find my leadership style, and really gain the respect of the crew by being efficient and organized as to not waste their time or my own.

 

I also had to aid in cueing - and partially wrangling - nearly 20 children between the ages of 6 and 11 to be the chorus in the second act. As silly as it sounds, I found that wearing glow stick bracelets helped them see me, and pay attention to their entrances. 

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Working on this show also helped me put my music reading skill to good use, as I rarely get to follow a score, and showed me what working in tandem with another Assistant Stage Manager could be like.

Photos By: Zach Mendez

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