The Clarion went behind the scenes and talked to the various people who brought Spamalot to Sinclair Community College, from the costume designers to a chemistry teacher — to see how one of the biggest productions in the Theatre department came together.
“There are shows that are thought provoking, shows that have messages — and if you dig deep, this does too — but pretty much it’s just to be entertained,” Patti Celek, publicity specialist for the Theatre department said.
Among those entertaining in Spamalot is cast member and Chemistry Professor Patrick Greco. Greco plays three characters, including Lancelot’s horse Concord, Mrs. Galahad and Sir Bedevere.
“Sinclair just puts on such a great show and it’s fun to be a part of it and see people enjoy it,” he said. “I can encourage my students to go, and I think that’s important, that they be exposed to other things besides their major.”
Greco said since he is known as a Chemistry teacher, when his students find out that he is part of a theatre production, they do not know what to think.
“My students don’t really know how to take it,” Grecco said. “It’s a hobby, a way to take a break from the science world.”
Greco said he had been a fan of Spamalot growing up and if given the chance, he wanted to be a part of it. Sinclair’s Theatre department gave him that chance.
“I’ve seen Spamalot in New York and I saw it when [it came to the] Schuster Center. Just growing up and liking Monty Python, it was just a draw,” Greco said. “I remember when I saw it in New York, I said that if I ever had a chance to do Spamalot, I will do it.”
Apart from the actors, are the costumes that help define the characters.
Costume Designer Kathleen Hotmer said one of the biggest challenges she faces is creating who the character is through the use of clothing.
“A costume designer makes decisions on what everyone on stage is wearing down to their underwear to their socks to something as simple as a t-shirt,” Hotmer said. “Ideally before a character walks on stage, or before they even open their mouth, you learn something about them based on what they are wearing.”
Hotmer said although most of the pieces for Spamalot were rented, there are still some things that needed tweaking.
“The biggest challenge with renting is that when we make things in our shop, we have to make sure that they look like it belongs to the same world,” Hotmer said. “We have to make sure it looks like it came from the rental house.”
In the shop they made an entire set that includes seven costumes for the opening scene.
“We [built] a set for four men’s costumes and three women’s costumes,” Hotmer said. “They are pretty labor intensive; they have lots of little details. We are also building cancan skirts.”
Hotmer also talked about what was disappointing about costuming.
“Pretty much across the board for . . . any show I have been a part of, the costume that costs the most money in terms of materials and labor hours is seen the least amount on stage,” Hotmer said. “Early on in my costume career I came to be very familiar with that, and it is the case with this [production]. The cancan skirts are probably going to be seen on stage for no more than a minute.”
Hotmer said that she, along with student workers, have been creating the costumes for Spamalot since the beginning of the semester.
“For this kind of show, it really is like working up until the very last minute,” Hotmer said.
Student worker in the costume shop and Performance major Sydney Back said she enjoys being part of the costume making process.
“My favorite part is being able to say that I made it,” she said. “Though they typically don’t care that much, it’s still fun to say I made that skirt, or I sewed that part.”
The costumes for Spamalot are an element that helps set the stage, which is something that Theatre Manager Terry Stump is familiar with.
“As theatre manager, I am responsible for scheduling, set up and execution of anything that happens in Blair Hall Theatre,” Stump said. “As part of my job, I am also responsible for scenic design of most of the Theatre departments productions, and Spamalot was one of those assignments.”
Stump said that one of the biggest challenges with Spamalot was finding a way to stay true to devoted fans.
“You’ve got these devoted fans that you have to please with the style of Monty Python,” he said. “I am a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail myself, so I watched that again as part of research and tried to stay true to the original style.”
According to Stump, Terry Gilliam is a part of the original Monty Python group and he was the one who did illustrations and movie clips. While researching the movie, Stump tried to model the set for Spamalot to stay accurate to Gilliam’s style.
“I tried to stay true to his illustrative style when coming to the feet of God, the clouds, the hand of God — those type of elements that are strictly out of Monty Python.”
After research is when the ground plans start coming together.
Stump said another challenge of Monty Python was how to make set changes go as quickly and quietly as possible while other scenes are still in process.
Stump also took a lot of time drafting and drawing the pieces of the show.
“I started drawing in June and the drawings went to the shop in July,” he said. “Unfortunately I only had one student worker over the summer (Maxx Stout) and he built a lot of the scenery by himself.”
Stump said although they started the set construction in the summer, the painting was still going on during opening night on Oct. 4, something that is not unfamiliar for a production this large.
Stump said that his favorite aspect of the job is the diversity.
“I like the variety, it is something different every day and I can always look forward to it,” he said. “The theatre is fun, but it’s also a lot of work because it takes a lot to put on a production. But after the production is over, you can sit back and say ‘yeah I did that — that’s good.’”
Greco said that he encourages all different types of people to come see the show.
“I would encourage everyone to come out and see the show,” Greco said. “British humor is a genre that I think a lot of people are familiar with.”