Hot Couture at The Crucible

I work a variety of gigs and events throughout the year. Big ones and small ones, from underground to corporate. This could be curating an entire art gallery, stage managing, running theater productions, or producing full events ... it varies widely, which is the way I like it. Never a dull moment. And with any luck, I'm actually able to schedule them such that they don't overlap too much.

By far my most favorite gigs to work are events at The Crucible. First and foremost, that's because of the crew there. These are easily the most affable, solid, and capable people with whom I've ever worked. You need a 20' welded steel ball to catch fire, zip-line from 200' onto a stage crowded with fire performers, explode in pyrotechnic bliss, and not kill anybody? Sure, we'll have that for you in 10 minutes. For an event producer, it's like being a kid in a candy store.

Second, the quality of the productions is inevitably top-notch ... they put on show that are some of the most innovative and outlandish creative efforts around, particularly with regard to taking traditional mediums and melding them (sometimes kicking and screaming) with the fire arts. As you can imagine, many of these, like ballet and opera, aren't used to that kind of partnership, but it creates theatrical magic every time.

Finally, these are fundraisers for a great cause. The Crucible does more than most organizations in the Bay Area to help people in our community grow their artistic skills, expand their horizons, and build their self-confidence through an impressively extensive offering of classes in the industrial and fire arts.

This weekend, I'm helping to stage manage the Hot Couture Fashion Show, celebrating their 9th anniversary in business. As expected, it's an incredible show that leaves no stops unpulled, and no opportunity for spewing fire left by the wayside. The combination of beautiful models catwalking the creations of some of the most innovative designers in the Bay Area you've probably never heard of but by all rights you should know ... together with the pyrotechnic skills of The Crucible is simply not to be missed.

Big props go out to Danielle Cohen of Missing Piece for her formidable skills in co-producing this event, making manifest the fashion side of the show ... in spades.

(photo credit: The Crucible)