Paradise Hotel Opens This Friday

The set is built, costumes are sewn, actors are in character, lights are set... And the show is opening this Friday! So take a break from your routine, and check into the Paradise Hotel, a little love nest away from home, where love can blossom and no questions asked. Reserve your room today!

One Week Before Opening

 Excitement builds for the opening of Paradise Hotel. 

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsal. 

 Margarite models her period underwear.

 Benoit looks happy to be home in his office. But is he really?

 Victoire has plans for Maxime, but what mischief is Peter Larlham cooking up with Angelique?

 ASM Ryan Heath checks the props table, while lighting designer Luke Olson (below) works his magic.

 The set builders have been hard at work creating Brian Redfern's gorgeous set (below). Paradise Hotel will be open for business soon. Hope to see you there!

 

Scene Work

Two weeks before the show:

Megan Stogner, Thomas Hodges and Jon Wat rehearse their scenes before the first run-thru.

Notice that the floor is finished to look like a hotel lobby, and the bed is being built in one of the hotel rooms. 

Later this week, all the set pieces will be put in place, props will magically appear and tech will begin.

Rehearsal Photos: Three Weeks Out

The crew clears the stage so rehearsal can begin. The floor is covered in black paper and tape because it is being painted by the set crew. Many of the large set pieces have been built and are leaning against the wall.

Director Peter Larlham talks the the cast before rehearsal.

Ladies rehearse in corsets and skirts, and men wear hard-soled shoes, to get a feel for their costumes. Notice the "wallpapered" wall of the hotel room on the house right side of the photo -- evidence that the crew has been hard at work building the set.

Toulouse Lautrec in Balboa Park

The dance hall posters and fin-du-siecle artwork of Parisian painter Toulouse Lautrec is currently on  display at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Although T-L died in 1901 (at age 36, another victim of syphilis), his work evokes all the gaiety of La Belle Epoque -- the time period in which Paradise Hotel takes place -- and is worth seeing to gain insight into the world in which the Pinglets and Paillardins (and especially Antoinette) lived. Click on the link above for museum information.

Phlegm, not Puce

Actors: Sonia has opted to go with a light green color for Madame Paillardin's infamous "puce" dress. Since puce is a reddish-brown color (the color of a flea; puce means "flea" in French), the lines referring to the puce dress are changed to the "phlegm" dress. Please make a note in your scripts.

Use Proper Movement to Appear More Authentic

Check out this video for actors on movement and dance during the Edwardian period. It's British, rather than French, but it should be helpful in suggesting mannerisms and movement style for La Belle Epoque.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWai73Zl2js