Photographing the arts: revisiting a show (or Once, twice)

You could be forgiven for thinking the photo above looked familiar—after all, I did have a very similar one a couple of years ago!

But there’s a reason for that: the production of Once at Darlinghurst Theatre Company has made a return, with half the cast being new this time—so I was back there recently to photograph it for them, ahead of a nationwide tour.

And to be honest, while it’s something I’ve done before (re-photographing a show, I mean), somehow I was more nervous than I was the first time….

Photographing the arts: the poster / promotional shoot

I’ve written before about the range of different ways a photographer can be involved in creating images for a production; and in my other essays on photographing the arts I’ve tended to focus on the actual production stills taken on stage, so it’s about time I looked at the poster / promotional image side of things.

There are a thousand different ways to go about creating a ‘teaser’ or promotional image for a show, so this is just an example of what we did in this particular case; but for me, the overall approach is usually the same: get to know the script, the characters and their relationships, find out about the design & directorial concepts for the production, come up with some visual ideas that underscore elements of what’s being created, and (if necessary) scout for locations that will work for what we want to achieve.

In this case, for the Darlinghurst Theatre Company production of Once, my feeling was that connection lay at the heart of the story - the relationship between Guy and Girl (as the characters are known), supported by the community of musicians they encounter through the course of their story…

High Fidelity at the Hayes Theatre

Over at the Hayes Theatre in Potts Point, they do keep busy. It seems like every few weeks there's a new production opening; most recently, the musical High Fidelity, from Highway Run Productions & director Neil Gooding.

As with everything I've seen at the Hayes, the cast and production are exceptional - in a lot of cases, they've come straight from a much larger show to work in this ~100 seat venue, so there's certainly no shortage of available talent in Sydney, at every level of production.

And the reviews reflect that; so of course, the challenge for me is to make it look as good - or better - than it did on stage, so the images that go to reviewers underscore the points they're making about the production, in a positive light...

A Few Of My Favourite Things (2016 Year In Review Edition)

I know a lot of things happened in 2016, and many of them weren't that fabulous (to say the least); but when I went back into my archives, I started to realise there'd been some really great things that happened, too - so here's a few that I was involved in along the way, along with some images that might not have been seen elsewhere...

PhotographyRobert CattoJanuary 9, 2017Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Theatre, Photography, Musical, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Kage CollectiveComment

Carols by Cabaret at the Hayes Theatre, Sydney

The Hayes Theatre here in Sydney is a smaller space in musical theatre terms, but one where some super-talented people have been working hard for the past few years to mount shows that might not otherwise get seen here.

But beyond that, they're also part of the community - and so the artists who perform there work together to help in the best way they can, by putting on a show to raise funds for the Wayside Chapel in nearby Potts Point.

And so, Carols by Cabaret was back again this year - and I offered to help the producers in the best way I know how, by photographing the show...

PhotographyRobert CattoDecember 16, 2016Hayes TheatreMusical, Theatre, Photography, Sydney, Hayes TheatreComment

Linden Furnell wins the Rob Guest Endowment at the Lyric Theatre, Sydney

From a pool of over 300 applicants who auditioned, six performers were chosen to perform at the Rob Guest Endowment Gala this past Monday - and I was there once again as their official photographer to document the night.

Last year was my first time at the gala event, and I have to say I was impressed - the quality of performances from guest artists from shows currently playing in Sydney, and from the six finalists, were absolutely top notch. Considering there's very little opportunity to rehearse with the band before the event (much less have technical rehearsals, on the borrowed set of Dream Lover for the night), it's an incredibly smooth & slick production they put on.

So I knew, going back this year, that it'd be something to see once again; and it certainly didn't disappoint...

PhotographyRobert CattoNovember 18, 2016Lyric TheatrePhotography, Theatre, Musical, Rob Guest Endowment, Lyric Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaComment

Defying Gravity: The Songs Of Stephen Schwartz at the Theatre Royal, Sydney

Musical theatre fans in Australia got a bit of a treat over the weekend - some would probably say it was the equivalent of a visit from the Pope, or the Queen; or possibly both at the same time.

Composer Stephen Schwartz was in town for Defying Gravity, a concert tribute to his career, featuring stars from around the globe - all here specially for the event.

We had double Tony winner Sutton Foster, film and stage star Aaron Tveit, global performer Joanna Ampil, and top Australian artists David Harris and Helen Dallimore - but the biggest coup had to be the amazing Betty Buckley, 'The Voice Of Broadway', whose work with Schwartz goes back as far as Pippin in the early Seventies.