UCSC Barnstorm, 2020-2021
Asta was involved in Barnstorm’s Musical Theater Scenes group for three years, starting as a performer and then taking over as lighting designer for the two shows straddling the pandemic. Their first design (March of 2020) was a lot of fun, and made it all the way to final dress before the show was canceled and everyone went home for the plague.
Their second design with MTS happened three weeks early and got programmed on their dark day during tech week for another show. The group got offered a better venue, so they took it. They ended up using the rep plot in the Mainstage at UCSC, with a few specials focused for the show. Most of the numbers were fairly simple, prioritizing the performers on their own merits, but a few of them called for more intricate cues. The opening number was “Ex-Wives” from Six, and they leaned into the flashiness of the music and original choreography. Of the eight hours they spent holed up in the booth programming on their dark day from another show in tech, about three hours went to Ex-Wives.
Asta enjoyed their time with Musical Theater Scenes, and appreciates the opportunities that they had there.
All photos taken by Stephen Luis Marino.