Fire Girl Photography in the Big Sky Journal

by Editor on August 18, 2010

Courtney Jones plays Peaseblossom in Montana Shakespeare in the Parks 2010 rendition of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream'.

Many thanks to The Big Sky Journal, Montana’s premiere lifestyle magazine, for featuring my photo essay on Montana Shakespeare in the Parks in their 2010 ARTS issue.  Big Sky Journal sent me out in the field with the troupe, and I was able to enjoy three (albeit rainy) nights with MSIP while they were stationed at the Grove in Bozeman.

We ended up going with a desaturated look to the images, retaining a hint of color while allowing the actor’s expressions and costume details to really shine through.  Changing light conditions (the play began at 2000h and finished around 2230h) made shooting in daylight, sunset, and darkness imperative and made me get very creative.

And while Montana Shakespeare in the Parks has received the traditional press, images of them acting, working the stage, etc. I was after something different.  Shots of the actors setting up, working behind the stage, laughing with each other before they go onstage.  I wanted to capture and document the whole experience, not just the side of the performance that the audience sees.

This was without doubt my favorite assignment I have received thus far.  All of the members of the troupe were easy to work with and fascinating individuals.  I very much look forward to working with MSIP on a longer project in the future.

The troupe, renown for their superb acting and colorful costuming, outdid themselves this year with their performances of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Julius Caesar’.  Of note, only the cast of ten actors travels.  They are wholly responsible for driving to the next location, setting up (often in high-altitude summer heat), costuming and, of course, acting.  Then they tear down, repack, drive to the next town and do it all over again.  Suffice to say this is not a job for the faint of heart.

They are now travelling across the West, playing in a different outdoor location each and every night, showing audiences just how fascinating  – and understandable, even in this modern age, Shakespeare is.

Many thanks to the MSIP crew for letting me work with them and to The Big Sky Journal for giving me the opportunity.

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