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Friday, June 9, 2017

"Nunsense," (Part 1 of 2), Priscilla Beach Theatre, Priscilla Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA



"Nunsense" opens today for a sold-out run at Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT).  PBT's quality leadership, venue, cast and production team has become consistent in attracting sell-out crowds!! This blog post is from the first of the two dress rehearsals that I photographed.

The storyline: "When the Little Sisters of Hoboken discover that their cook, Sister Julia has accidentally poisoned 52 of the sisters, they are in dire need of funds for the burials. The sisters decide the best way to raise money is to put on a variety show. They take over the school auditorium, which is currently set up for the eighth grade production of "Grease". Meet Reverend Mother Regina, a former circus performer; Sister Mary Hubert, the Mistress of Novices; a streetwise nun from Brooklyn named Sister Robert Anne; Sister Mary Leo, a novice who is a wannabe ballerina; and the delightfully wacky Sister Mary Amnesia, the nun who has lost her memory." Source: PBT

The performance cast: Jeanine Belcastro, Paige Berkovitz, Shelly Fawson, Sarah Franco, and Brittany Napoli, create an absolute riot of laughter, wonderful music, and audience involvement. There is a good reason that the original off-Broadway production ran for 3,600+ performances and is the 2nd longest running off-Broadway show in history - it is a great show.

The team that makes all this happen behind the scenes:

Producers: Bob and Sandy Malone
Director: Theresa Chiasson
Musical Director: Christopher Ricci
Production Manager: Joshua Patino
Stage Manager: Ross Magnant
Choreography: Ashley Evans
Lighting: Ellie Rogers
Sound: Chris Conti

And speaking of behind the scenes........



Working hard in the control booth high above the stage in the back of the mezzanine, from left to right, Chris Conti, Sound; Ross Magnant, Stage Manager; and Ellie Rogers, Lighting.

The following images are in order of occurrence in the show and were captured live during a dress rehearsal.















































































You can contact PBT by phone at 508-224-4888 or online at http://www.pbtheatre.org/ for tickets or information.

Come out to PBT and support local, live theatre in our community - we are all richer by its presence.

For the photographically inclined, I used a Leica X with a fixed 35mm lens, shutter speed set at 1/250, aperture and ISO varied based on available light during each scene.  Photographically, I found this the most challenging live performance yet. There were few props, the stage was mostly black, the costumes were black and white, and stage lighting was often bright and intense. It was difficult to get a well-exposed image across such a dynamic range. With constant movement, HDR was not really an option either.  I found spot metering on an individual face, tedious as that can be, was the only way to make it work.


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