Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Building Sets With Joshua Martin Pastore

When Joshua Martin Pastore first became involved with the Ridgefield Theater Barn in 2005, he considered himself an ASPIRING actor. Over the next two years, he would audition for and capture roles in musicals and comedy shows, and the heat of the lights and the sound of the audience seemed to spur him on to greater and greater excellence on stage. But while the actors and actresses often get the most credit for the success of a play, there's much more to a production than simple acting. In fact, behind-the-scenes players make a huge contribution to the success of a play. This is a lesson that Joshua Martin Pastore would learn on a first-hand basis.

In 2007, rather than auditioning for a role in the play and preparing to perform on stage, Joshua Martin Pastore chose a completely different role altogether. This time, he would work to build the sets that make up the background of the play. He would have a hand in almost everything, from building and painting, to lighting, to rigging, to safety. He even had a team of younger students to supervise and keep safe on the job.

Building a set is difficult work, even for someone who has done so for years. Each element must be lightweight and easy to move from place to place. Sets are never permanent, so they must be easily manipulated without the use of heavy tools or machinery. In addition, sets must be durable, so if a door slams or an actor knocks into an element, the whole piece hangs together.

People like Joshua Martin Pastore, who work on sets like this, claim that they never look at plays or movies in quite the same way again. Each time a new scene is unveiled, they find themselves looking at the windows or the floor or the lighting, wondering how it was done and how long it must have taken. It's a complete change of perspective.

As his high school years ended and the college years began, Joshua Martin Pastore found he had less time available for the theatre. Learning lines and building sets both take huge amounts of time, and he found he must devote all of his energy to study. But, the love of the theatre that was firmly planted when he was a boy continues to live with him to this day.