Blogger on camera
May cause minor discomfort
Please don’t adjust set
– Ancient haiku

It was business as usual at the ol’ AZ this week, with the combination of lots of backstage scrambling and extremely patient guests making for a solid episode.

The day kicked off with another stellar appearance by theater expert Kathy Hsieh, even if her picks did cause several members of the crew — ok, mostly me and camera operator/graphics guru Sonja — to waste valuable time trying to remember exactly how the song from Bunnicula went. Things continued on a high note with special guest Deborah Lawrence, who told a story that made her politically charged art seem even more impressive. Also, I’m not sure if this shows up on camera, but her socks were completely awesome.

Generally speaking, afternoons are the most frazzled time of the shooting day, as the inevitable post-lunch daze collides with the frantic realities of setting up for the weekly in-house performance. As this week proved, it’s especially hard to stay focused when the studio is full of completely gorgeous — and handmade, out of wine casks and plain old furniture tacks — drums. Thankfully, the members of One World Taiko didn’t seem to mind the occasional gawking at their instruments, and delivered an amazingly kinetic performance. Watching both of them give it their absolute all, during multiple takes, made even sitting in the tape room feel like a workout. Of course, any calories burnt by the staff were probably immediately canceled out by the giant bag of caramel corn in Nancy’s office, but hey.

Watch the latest Art Zone with Nancy Guppy show

No show next week, as we gear up for another mega-huge Open Show, with five local performers sweeping into the studio at warp speed. Based on previous installments, the potential for juicy/revealing/potentially embarrassing backstage anecdotes is high. Keep watching this space.

-Andy