CV of Justin Lang

How to Tell if You Have a Good Stage Manager

Again while at the tech table tonight, I have been thinking over the design process of the show and the surprising things that happen.

I have been design a show or two each season at LTA for a couple of years now and it seems like I am always “stuck” with the same stage manager running the show.

Around my first or second show at LTA, I was asked in the first production meeting by the producer, do I need anything for the show and I jokinly said a Hot Toddy each night during tech week.

Since then it has been a running joke with everyone involved with the show that I am designing that I require a Hot Toddy and that each night someone is designated as my “Bartender”.  In the three or four years now that I have been working with LTA, no one has given gotten me a Hot Toddy.

Well last night was a bad bad run through for me.  I just could not get my levels right and I found a gapping black spot right down stage.  I was cursing to myself and just frustrated.  Little did I know that my headset was still hot.  Everyone on headset heard me basically chewing myself out under my breath. QUITE embarrising!

I arrived early today in order to start the system up and get the ladders out and fix my dark spot down stage.  Once I had finish fixing the problem on the house electric and putting everything away, I headed back to the tech table in a dark house.

When I got back to row K where the tech table lives for one more night, I noticed a travel mug on my desk that was not there when I came in.  Being the nut job that I am I tasted it to see what it might be and low and behold, A HOT TODDY!

Our stage manager comes out on stage to start wet mopping the stage for the run thought to night and notices me out in the house messing around.  She ask me if I got my present, the Hot Toddy.  MEJ, our stage manager heard me on the headset last night being hard on myself and wanted to know that she and the rest of the cast and crew “love” me and are here for me to help out, even if that means getting a buzz for the last night of tech.

Ladies and gentlemen, you know you have a great manager on your hands that she remembers your standing request/joke and see’s that you have been having a hard day and brings you a special present.

While the drink was delicious, it was more of the toughfulness and caring that RAERLY counted with me.  If you get the privilage of having a great stage manager like this, HOLD ON TO THEM AND NEVER LET THEM GO!

I twittered about this earlier today from my latest design, It Runs In The Family at Little Theatre of Alexandria.  While we are at I am taking time out of the actor notes to post a quick note about my tech table set up.

Here at LTA, we have setup up an ETC Ion on a closed wireless network letting me run the client software on my PC via wireless to have my “video node” out in the house.  In addition to having the notebook screen, I have added a 17″ LCD screen so I have more information at my finger tips.

For a while, I was using the newest apple USB keyboard with the client key commands written on it.  I just added the PI Engineering 58 X-Keys to the system so I don’t have to hunt and peck for a command such as cue or something like that.  What I did find was that I had to change some of the keys on the X-Keys to suit my needs at the tech table such as adding a GO and STOP/BACK keys and crazy as it seems, FLEXIE and DISPLAY.  What I find interesting about the default layout for the X-Keys for the Ion from ETC offered a mesh of options with the layout not being designed for any one use, such as either as a designer remote or programming remote or playback remote. Thus the change of layout to the X-Keys.  Thinking about it more now, the X-keys does have “two layers” with a toggle button where one layer of keys could be setup as “programming” buttons and the second layer being “playback”.   Something to keep in mind for the next show!

Also “featured” on the tech table are the usual items, Altoids, Production binder, with script, water, pepsi, (although I prefer coke!), notepad, cheat sheet, two littlites and of course, the iPhone.

The show opens Friday and runs for three weeks.  One more night of messing with levels and then I can it done for opening!

I posted a tweet tonight about setting up Quickbooks and I got areply from @YourSavvyVA.  She was ready to help and answer questions.  Well, after I couldn’t read the small print in the setup, and I mean SMALL PRINT.  I just gave up and will set it up tomorrow, hell, I have more time tomorrow and the pizza JUST arrived.

Well, I checked out her site realy quick and will have to explore it more, but I found the search feild AWESOME.  BTW, love the design over all.

We kids, it is official, a new site design that I have been working on for the past month has gone live with it’s first posting. The Owner of the site is a friend and co-worker of mine through Barbizon in New England. He is starting to write for Live Design and his first article this month is the importance of a good web presence.

The goal of the site is to show off his lighting design work and writing skills. We utilized WordPress as the content manager as it is simple to use and easy to integrate new plug-in’s and upgrade.

This theme is not for sale and is the property of Zoll Design. If you like what you see, please feel free to contact me through my design firm, Justin Lang Design, info@justinlangdesign.com

Visit the completed site at www.zolldesign.com.

So I have been tasked with coming up with a new logo for our new Dodgeball Team, the Eballa Virus. We already have a website name and I am currently working on that, but first up is the logo.

So the questions is, how do I turn the Ebola Virus into a logo for a DodgeBall Team?  Well I am currently working on some sketches and hope to have a logo finialized after thuresdays practice and team members can “vote” on it.

So stay tuned, not only is there a logo on it’s way, but also a website!

Stay tuned

You are looking at one of the newest dealers of the Ebola Plush Doll!!!  One of my co-wokers found this awhile ago on google while looking for photos of what the ebola virus looks like.  The reason why is we have joined a new dodge ball team and our other co-worker is the coach.  He came up with the team name of e-balla virus!

Well, since we like the ebola virus plush so much, we are going to sell those as well as possiably a tee shirt design to help raise some money for the team.  If anything, it will be drinking money!

So look forward to getting your new Ebola… I mean E-Balla Plush doll soon!

I just got word from the boss man, we are going to be putting together a new marketing piece for the office. And the best part is, I have total design control. And to top it off, I am going to be able to mark off one of my 101 list items because of it.

We are going to be using lulu.com to print out materials as we need.  Lulu is a print on demand kind of thing.  You can also market peices to be sold around the world!  While I don’t think this will happen with this piece, it will be  learning expience with Lulu to get other things made!

When the job is complete, I’ll make sure to post the artwork.

I received this new magazine in the mail the other day called FPO [For Publication Only]. In The Summer 2008 issue is an article about Branding and how it is more then skin deep.  They analized a bunch of magazines through time and how the brand was built and grown over the years.

One of the magazines the they covered was Playboy.  While it is an interesting read, I found the portion about the origins of the Playboy logo the most interesting.

Excerted from FRO

Hefner came up with the idea of a rabbit because of it “humorous sexual connotation: and it’s “frisky and playful” image. The tuxedo was added for sophistication. In addition, he chose a rabbit of means of tweaking the nose at the Esquire and the New Yorker, which uses men as symbols.  The rabbit logo was designed by Art Paul, who was hired as a freelance to design the logo but stayed on to become the art director of the magazine for the next 30 years. According to Paul. “If I had any idea how important that little rabbit was going to be. I probably would have redrawn him a dozen times to make certain I was doing him justice. As it was, I did one drawing and that was it.  I probably spent all of half an hour on it.

I finding really interesting that something that has been a HUGE icon for nearly 60+ years has changed very little and was done in less then half an hour!

I just recieved the latest issue of How Design Magazine.  Of course with my busy schedule I have not had time to read it.  Well, with my train ride tomorrow, I will have plenty of time to catch up with it and my newest magaize subscription, Maxium!!

I was packing up my bag yesterday with everything that I might need for the trip these next two days and though about taking out all those fucking subscription cards out of my How magaizine.  That was I don’t litter alllll over the train.  So I noticed a rather big insert with rather thick paper and an interesting cut out.  It def got my attention.  While it was not the excat same thing pictured above, it was just as detailed!  So this has me thinking about another promotional idea for Barbizon!!!  Now I just have to do some research and cost comparisons!

Check this stuff out, pretty neat! LaserExcel.com