| Field of Dreams | |
| Home > Newsletter Archive > Vol. 20 > Field of Dreams | |
|
An interview with DREW FIELD, Technical Administrator for The Dallas Opera
by Suzanne Calvin Calvin: So, how did a young fellow from Detroit, Maine, find himself in the exciting world of the theater? Field: Well, when I was a kid...and this is kind of bizarre... Calvin: We love it already. Field: ...the town did minstrel shows. Calvin: Funny, you don’t look 120 years old. Field: I remember going to those things and being around them, so we had something of a theatrical tradition in town. Then later, in school (a four-room school house with eight or nine grades), we did class plays and holiday plays – in high school, too. But when I went off to college, I had nothing to do with the theater until, one day, I was approached by someone in need of something... Calvin: A warm body? Field: Exactly. And my history major went out the window. After college, I was a construction manager building hotels, Ramada Inns and apartment buildings. My college roommate, on the other hand, went off to the Yale School of Drama saying, “You should come.” So, I applied and got in and I was standing in the scene shop one day when someone said to me, “You wanna work at the Santa Fe Opera?” I said, “No...” Calvin: You said, “No!” You’d rather work on a Ramada Inn? Field: I didn’t know anything about opera at that time and – I’m a Maine boy. There was no ocean in New Mexico and I figured I’d be eaten by some large arachnid within minutes of my arrival. But, a designer friend explained that it was a very good credit, so I went for eight weeks...and stayed eight years. I adored it. The moment my feet hit New Mexican soil, I was happy. Calvin: You’ve been a lot of places, including the Soviet Union. Field: Yes. When the door opens, walk through it. I always wanted to go places and the opera world became my vehicle. After I left Santa Fe, I went to Boston in 1984 as Technical Director, working with Sarah Caldwell. A few years later, Sarah put together a program called, “Soviet-American Cultural Exchange: Making Music Together.” Russian artists – singers, playwrights, composers, musicians – we brought to Boston for a citywide festival. The following year, she would flip it and take a large contingent of American artists to perform in the Soviet Union. And that’s where I came in, commuting from Boston to Moscow for the next two years. It was great fun, never a dull moment. Each day was an adventure from the time I woke up until the time I went to bed. A never-ending adventure. Calvin: How did your experience in Moscow change your perspective on the world of opera and theater? Field: It reinforced a number of things; mainly, that theater and opera people are a community. We have a common road, a common place, and people are very much the same wherever you go. My Russian co-workers were remarkably friendly and hospitable and I was struck by the similarities rather than the differences, except for our clothes! Calvin: How would you sum up your role at The Dallas Opera? Field: I think, basically, I am an enabler. There are all sorts of groups involved in getting an opera to – and through – opening night. I tend to be in the center, communicating, back and forth, with all those groups. I have very big ears. I listen all the time, collecting information. I try to make sure people have what they need and I communicate personally; I’m not a big memo writer. Hands-on, in the middle – that’s what I do, “walking and talking.” Calvin: One of the hallmarks of this season is the number of shows we’ve never done before, an incredibly exciting prospect, beginning with Nabucco. Designed by artists Tom Orr and Frances Bagley, who have never designed an opera before, it’s a heavy responsibility for them, and for you, too. You have to act as their Guardian Angel throughout this process. What exactly does this entail? Field: The first thing you have to realize is these are people who create images...images with an emotional impact and a story. Now, you can reduce an opera down to an image and a story, driven by music, and populate it with living figures. So, these artists already knew a lot about what they were going to do. It was up to me to present them with the tools to do the job and make sure they knew how to use them. We had lots of conversation about “real estate;” that the stage they had to work with was only “so big,” with other restrictions and hurdles as well. I was very, very lucky with them (Bagley and Orr) that they instantaneously adopted me into their creative process. So, I wasn’t just the guy with the toolbox, I became a full-fledged collaborator. Thank God for computers because I would just pack up my laptop and head for their studios. It’s been a wonderful collaborative effort and I feel very lucky that they’ve allowed me into the process. Calvin: One of the things that amuses me when talking to Tom and Frances now is, all the terminology they’ve picked up since they started hanging around The Dallas Opera. Has every experience in designing a new production been this satisfying, gratifying and collaborative? Field: Actually, I have a hard time of thinking of one that wasn’t. One time I was doing a show with a designer I will not mention... Calvin: Come on! Field: ...Okay, it was John Conklin. It was late and the last show of the season at Santa Fe, which is often the most difficult, and it was hard – not contentious or miserable – hard, in the sense of, “Are we going to make it?” Calvin: I think one of the reasons you’ve held the job for as long as you have is, you have a real sense of balance about you. I’ve heard rumors, from time to time, that you can absolutely lose your cool, but I’ve never seen you lose your temper. How important is that, to what you do? Field: It’s extremely important and it was a hard-learned lesson. I have an extremely volatile temper and I learned, early on, that it didn’t help. So, I changed. Now, I don’t think I could go back the other way. I find that diplomacy is much easier and more effective than fear or intimidation and, if you use it consistently, when your hackles do go up...people pay attention. Calvin: Are you looking forward to our 50th Anniversary Season? Field: I always look forward to it because it’s what I do. I live on the stage. At the end of each season, when it’s over, there’s always a big sigh of relief. Then, about three weeks later, I’m bored senseless and ready to begin again. | |
