In June, I worked with the talented cast and crew of Being Alive, a beautifully staged selection of Stephen Sondheim songs at the Hayes Theatre in Sydney. My role was to capture production images to showcase the energy, emotion and artistry of the show with four extraordinary performers and a three-piece band, to be used for promotional and program purposes.
Normally, I photograph and document a full dress rehearsal by shooting continuously while the production runs in real time. This allows me to capture spontaneous moments and the natural rhythm of the performance. However, for Being Alive, the process was a little different – and all the more fascinating because of it.
This time, instead of shooting a seamless run-through, we worked through a carefully curated list of specific moments. Sonia Suares, the director, knew exactly the moments that would feature the artists appropriately and guided me along the way. The cast and crew would reset between these key points, allowing me to focus on capturing particular highlights that best represented the range and spirit of the show. We moved from set-up to set-up, working collaboratively to ensure that each image told a piece of the story.
From my perspective, it was an interesting departure from my usual approach — offering the opportunity to craft images with more precision, while still responding to the vibrancy of live performance. I’m grateful to the team at Hayes for their openness and professionalism, and to the cast for their generosity in revisiting these moments so that I could do them justice through my lens.
Catch a performance in Sydney starting from late June … for tickets and more information head to “Being Alive”
