Behind the Scenes at the Hop - Five perspectives on the Hopkins Center from the people who work there.
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Behind the Scenes
at the Hop
Five perspectives on the
Hopkins Center from the
people who work there.
By J o H n W A l t e r S
Photography by J o n G I l B e r t F o x
For the past 50 years, the Hopkins Center for the
Performing Arts at Dartmouth College has been
the Upper Valley’s premiere venue for artistic performances of
all kinds, from world class artists and Dartmouth students alike. The Booker
But there’s a lot more to the Hop than most of us ever see. “The Hop has created a community
It’s also a teaching venue, a place to make and display art, that wants and expects to have its mind
a gathering place for students, and a headquarters for student opened by new experiences.”
ensembles. It’s home to every significant performance space on So says the person who sched-
the Dartmouth campus. It’s a hub for educational programs on ules those new experiences: Margaret
campus and in the community. It’s home to a sizeable collection lawrence, director of programming. She
of musical instruments. books the Hop’s Visiting Performing Art-
All that, and more. More than we could comfortably pres- ist series. (other folks do the Film Series
ent in a single magazine issue. In fact, a book could easily be and the Student ensembles, which are
written about the place and the people who make it run. Their also part of the Hopkins Center.)
work takes place behind the scenes, and they rarely (if ever) step lawrence is constantly living in the
into the spotlight. future. The performances for the 50th
So we can’t give you the whole picture. But we can give you anniversary season were booked in 2010
a good idea of the Hopkins Center’s real scope by introducing and 2011. “And there’s another layer in
you to just a few of its staffers and the jobs they do. my mind at all times, which has to do
with projects that may take even longer
to come to fruition.” That means keeping
in touch with agents, getting other › › › › ›
32 Upper Valley Life
Margaret Lawrence, director of
programming, booked artists such
as Yo-Yo Ma , Handspring Puppet
Company and Fatoumata Diawara
for the fall term.
September-October 2012 33
venues interested in a desired artist, and concocting ways to job at Dartmouth and never looked back.
entice performers to the Hop. “It’s really exciting to have the same level
one example: “Big international productions will quite of talent I was used to in new York, and I
often go to new York City. If it’s a brand new work, they may get to go home to my little piece of heaven
not want to have the very first shows reviewed by a new York every night!”
critic.” Instead, she can offer a few performances before a smaller It’s a needed respite after busy days of
audience, only a few hours from the big city. dealing with high-tech theatrical equip-
The secret to finding cutting edge performers? “Constant ment and the specialized needs of a broad
awareness,” she says. “It’s talking to my peers. It’s traveling as variety of performers. technology keeps
much as I can to see work.” changing, which means upgrades as often
There’s also the Hop’s educational mission, which lawrence as the budget allows.
describes as “critical.” She not only wants to book a performance; She handles it all with patience, grace,
she wants the artist to spend a few days in the area, interacting good humor and the energy (and flexibil-
with Dartmouth students, faculty and the Upper Valley com- ity) of a trained dancer.
munity. “Say we’re bringing in a string quartet. If it’s a Thursday
night show, I’ll say, ‘I need you to get here tuesday night.’ And
The Designer
If you’ve spent any time at all in the
it’s rare that the artists are not interested in that. They truly do
Upper Valley, you’ve seen the work of Sara
love to connect with people.”
Morin and her design team. She’s the mar-
lawrence has plenty of experience in her line of work. She
keting studio manager for the Hopkins
grew up on the West Coast, and before coming to Dartmouth
Center, responsible for posters, brochures,
16 years ago she did programming for a municipal arts center in
postcards and other publicity material for
oregon. So how did she find herself moving east?
all Hop events, and for the Hop’s website.
“Well, this is an extraordinary institution,” she says. “We are
Morin earned a BFA in graphic
in a rural, small community, and yet we are presenting sophisti-
design at Colby-Sawyer College. She was
cated and cutting edge work.”
hired at the Hop as a part-time designer,
The Expediter and she’s moved up to management.
once a show is on the schedule, Keely Ayres will step The design process begins, like many
in and make sure everything goes smoothly. She’s the senior things in a sizable organization, with a
production manager, responsible for the technical aspects of meeting. “We sit down at the beginning of
performances by visiting artists and student ensembles. the year and hear about the events from
That’s usually around 100 performances a year — plus Margaret lawrence. And there’s usually
the days of preparation before each show. “Sometimes we have video we can watch to get a sense of a
events going on in two venues performer’s work,” she describes.
“Sometimes we have events at the same time,” she says. Morin’s studio usually works
going on in two venues at the “It’s like a rubik’s Cube, or anywhere from six to nine weeks ahead
maybe a game of tetris.” on single shows, and longer for the an-
same time,” Keely Ayres says. Ayres brought an im- nual season brochure. “We start working
“It’s like a Rubik’s Cube, or pressive resume to her job. In on that in February, and it’s usually in
college she trained in dance people’s hands in early July.”
maybe a game of Tetris.” and technical theater. Then, Some designs are simple; you have a
she says, “I danced for several famous artist, you feature a picture and a
years in louisville, Ky., and new York City, and did technical name. on the other hand, “a lot of the
theater to pay the bills because dance didn’t pay!” shows don’t really have immediate name
In new York, she worked for off-Broadway plays, fashion recognition. It’s really important to have
shows and television. Then she spent seven years with touring an image that people can respond to
companies of tommy and The Phantom of the opera, two very quickly.” That task is much easier, she says,
technically demanding shows. After that, she says, “I was done because of the Hop’s reputation for
with living out of a suitcase.” That was 12 years ago; she took the quality. It’s a reputation that Morin › › › › ›
34 Upper Valley Life
Keely Ayres, senior production manager, pictured backstage in prop storage, is a master at making sure the sound, staging, lighting and technology needs of each show are met. September-October 2012 35
Along with two other graphic
designers, Sara Morin, market-
ing studio manager, creates a
compelling visual presence for
the Hopkins Center.
36 Upper Valley Lifetries to reinforce in her work. can “call it job security, I guess.”
“We’ve worked to make the Hop
brand really stand out,” she explains.
The Educator
As the Hop’s outreach and arts education manager, Stepha-
The Musical Organizer nie Pacheco’s job is to bring visiting artists out of the concert
“My title is ensembles assistant, but hall and into the community.
if you read my job description I’m a glori- “I’ve worked at institutions where this aspect was a little
fied clerk and musical janitor,” says Steve add-on,” she says. “At the Hop, there’s a holistic approach.”
langley, whose enthusiasm and musical Pacheco came to the Hop two years ago from a similar
knowledge shows through his self-depre- position with BrIC Arts Media, a multimedia arts space in
cation. Brooklyn. “I actually wasn’t looking to leave Brooklyn,” she says,
langley’s lair is a low-ceilinged, “but the job called to me. The level of programming here is at
concrete-walled space in the Hop’s base- the same level as in new York, but we get far more time with the
ment. All around us — on shelves, in artists.”
locked cages, in cases or beneath protec- Pacheco is given plenty of latitude to create and schedule
tive coverings — are approximately 400 events. There are the obvious kinds of things: master classes
musical instruments. and lectures, visits to
“We have two levels,” he explains. local schools, meals with When a performer is in town,
“We have some general instruments for student groups. But the Stephanie Pacheco’s schedule
the marching band or a student who really special events forge
wants to learn to play an instrument. a unique link between can get frantic; she and her
And then I have concert grade instru- artist and community. like assistant have to escort the
ments that are used by our performing bringing choreographer
ensembles, and occasionally by the visiting Karol Armitage, who’d cre- artists to all their public appear-
artists.” At the very top of the heap: a top- ated a piece based on string ances. “And there are times
of-the-line Hamburg Steinway concert theory, to a physics class.
grand piano, the only Steinway still made or arranging interactions when we have multiple artists in
entirely in Germany. langley estimates its between the American residence overlapping,” she says.
value at somewhere north of $200,000. records theater company,
And then there are the oddballs: which performed a play about Marines returning home from
a full set of African drums and period combat in Iraq, and PtSD Center and Mental Health staff at
instruments from the renaissance. If the VA Hospital in White river Junction, Vt.
you’re in Hanover and you need a sackbut When a performer is in town, Pacheco’s schedule can get
(a trombone from the renaissance and frantic; she and her assistant have to escort the artists to all their
Baroque eras), now you know where to go. public appearances. “And there are times when we have multiple
It’s a complicated, multidimensional artists in residence overlapping. So it’s like, okay, I’m with the a
job. He has to keep careful track of his cappella group. now I’m running off to the string quartet. now
inventory and keep everything in good I’m with a dancer in a physics class. But it’s fun for us, and we’re
working order. He has to make sure that getting an education, too,” she says.
every performance has the necessary
instruments — in concert condition.
Special Place, Special People
Fifty years ago, the Hop was a pioneering institution, one of
langley has held his job since 2005.
the prototypes in the country for a multidisciplinary arts center,
What background prepared him for the
explains lawrence. “That was a moment when a few major arts
post? “I trained initially as a band direc-
institutions were being invested in. It was a grand experiment
tor,” he explains. “Through that, you end
happening.”
up learning an awful lot about instru-
It’s safe to say that this revolutionary concept has been a
ments. The more technically demanding
success. But the fact that it has endured, and is poised for an-
stuff I still outsource to local shops in the
other half century of artistic achievement, is a testament to the
area. But a lot of stuff, I can do the minor
people who make the building come alive.
bits and pieces.”
In my line of work, I get to meet some talented › › › › ›
Add it all together, he says, and you
September-October 2012 37Steve Langley, ensembles
assistant, holds a piccolo
trumpet, one of more than
400 instruments he keeps or-
ganized and in working order.
38 Upper Valley Lifepeople. I’ve met a lot of folks who work hard at what they
do. But I don’t know that I’ve ever met a group of people
who are so skilled at their jobs, work so hard, and are so
happy as the staffers at the Hopkins Center. everyone’s full
of energy and smiles, even when they’re talking about the
stressful parts of their job.
It really is true: the public performances are just the tip
of the Hopkins Center’s iceberg. now you have just a sense
of the other 90 percent. next time you buy a ticket or see a
show, or glance at a poster for an event at the Hop, give a
thought to all the people who make it possible.
Stephanie Pacheco, outreach
and arts education manager,
strives to create a unique
link between artists and the
community.
September-October 2012 39You can also read
