I mentioned a while back that I'd been working on a show with the good folks at Apocalypse Theatre, The Dapto Chaser, which has opened now at Griffin Theatre here in Sydney - so I thought this would be a good chance to have a look at some of the images from our first shoot, the rehearsal space, and the final dress rehearsal before opening.

As is so often the case, there are a few images that are chosen for publicity & promotion, and a number that might be equally good but just don't quite make the cut - for any number of reasons. Rather than waiting a couple of years & putting these in my Lost & Found series, I thought I'd do it now!

In the studio, we did a number of individual images for social media use, which were going to have quotes from the show added to them before going out; and we also wanted one of the whole group for the cast announcement, and a crowdfunding campaign to follow.

I also knew we had the option of combining the single images into a composite group if we needed to - but the guys were so good on the day we didn't need to, and had a whole range of group images to choose from.

Getting into rehearsal, it's always nice to have a bit of the work as it grows - which doesn't necessarily mean that the images look like the show, but can sometimes give you the vibe of it without the detail being specifically correct. I'm also a big fan of the work-in-progress images - the ones that show you the off-stage team of director, stage management and designers - involved in the process. Having been a lighting designer myself, I know how often other departments go unnoticed!

I love to see how things evolve from the rehearsal room to the stage, but it's also nice to see things that stay constant - and sometimes I find myself photographing them from the same place again, when my first instinct at rehearsal is still the right one in performance. (It doesn't always work that way, of course; when the lighting arrives, there are new angles to find, and sometimes lens flare to avoid - or embrace!)

I'm looking forward to enjoying the show as a punter (no dog pun intended, there) - it's always different when you're watching it with one eye, through a tube, as photographers do when we're working. I'm sure it'll be even better with both eyes, and listening to them rather than anticipating their movements!  

Glad to see it has some great reviews, too - often accompanied by a familiar image...