{"id":15397,"date":"2026-09-20T20:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T00:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umainenewmedia.net\/nmd343\/?p=15397"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:22:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T18:22:38","slug":"project-1b-jack-arey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umainenewmedia.net\/nmd343\/project-1b-jack-arey\/","title":{"rendered":"Project 1b – Jack Arey"},"content":{"rendered":"

(I’m a little confused how to post my shorthand draft so for now here’s a link to it:\u00a0https:\/\/preview.shorthand.com\/4MUSsOf3Odbk9NrB)<\/a><\/p>\n

Like many professionally equipped theatres, experiencing a performance at Hauck Auditorium is akin to seeing the tip of a massive iceberg out at sea. Through the frame of the proscenium, an audience watches performers create a world, but their experience of the space is narrow and limited to this comparatively small window. They are perhaps aware of the booth above and behind them or the lights hanging from various parts of the theatre, but it would be impossible to get a full picture of the space and all its bizarre intricacies from this perspective. There is so much that goes into every production in Hauck and yet is almost completely invisible. With this project I aim to give a new perspective on the theatre and what it looks and feels like before a show. I also want to show off some of the theatre’s own character, history, and unexpected spaces.<\/p>\n

Just the stage of the theatre itself is a truly massive space. Being in there alone, especially in near total darkness as it was on my second visit, is daunting. The silence and the darkness are very present in the space and the sheer scale of the empty air is intimidating. Above the stage, the space extends up about two stories to the roof, though this is an inaccurate measurement as the stories in the theatre are much taller than in an ordinary building. The area above the stage is open space cluttered with hanging curtains and light poles, and is flanked by two loft-style floors above the left and right backstage areas. These are mostly used for set, light, or equipment storage. High, high above a fait stream of light can be seen through the smoke vents in the roof and occasionally a birdcall echoes down from them breaking the silence.<\/p>\n

When the theatre is quiet and unlit it has a vastly different energy to when a production is in full swing. I have been lucky enough to experience both now and in the photos below I’m attempting to display that quiet, intense, and fascinating version of this space. The story of this project is the story of the unseen parts of the theatre and how it works as well as the story of my own exploration of the space and how I’ve come to understand it in new ways.<\/p>\n

In the photos below I explored both the large scale and the small in this space. I took some images of the vast empty main stage area and also narrowed in on different points of interest, spots that I thought contained a story or were fascinating in some way. There are so many small rooms and little hallways or connecting spaces in Hauck that are vital to the space and what happens there but extremely well hidden or tucked away.\u00a0 I sought out these spaces and photographed them even finding some in my second visit that I’d never seen before.<\/p>\n