My Favourite Buildings #4
Previous: Federation Square
This is just such an obvious choice but seems appropriate to mention now because, for four weeks this year, it will be my office. And you're all welcome to visit me at work (though you had better get in quick 'cos it's selling out) It's history is fairly well known and if you're a bit shady on the dramas - the budget blow-out, design compromises, architect resignation - you're on the net, get googling!
After my Bangarra audition, walking down to Circular Quay to catch the train, I looked over to the building and thought how wonderful it would be to walk to work with THAT for a back-drop. The sight of it's curves is awesome and inspiring, made even more beautiful by the geometric solution the engineers came up with to create the sails in the first place. I don't even remember walking past it on my way to my first day on the job, nervous as I was, but that moment, that "if only" moment, is still clear in my mind today.
The first time I saw the opera house up close, one of my first thoughts of it was "what, are they renovating it or something?" The sight of all that exposed concrete was a bit of a shock. Nowadays, all that raw concrete is one of my favourite things about the building but back then, I guess I was expecting the walls to be clad with, oh I don't know, marble or more wood or something. I guess everything about this building is dramatic - the concrete, the view from the foyers, the location, the construction of...
However, from a performer's point-of-view, the building is a bit of a disappointment. Out of the three venues that Boomerang has been staged, it is by far the smallest, most cramped, oldest venue (though it's size means that it is much more intimate for the audience, which is great, especially since I find the audience isn't too close to us). Upon entering the performance space, you have to walk down stairs to get to the stage and to cross-over you have to negotiate your way past a random wall. It's as if the theatre was just squeezed into the building as an afterthought (just like my apartment!) Oh, and the slight lines suck. I guess it would be unfair to compare the Drama Theatre to, say, the Playhouse at QPAC; they are just on different scales. But even the much bigger Opera Theatre is a bit awkward and the stage itself is relatively small.
On the plus side, it seems quite a secure place; they've recently installed number pads to secure changerooms. And the upstairs green room is very comfortable too; many a times I've napped up there between shows, after stuffing myself with the roast from the cafeteria. It's also a tradition of mine to play Tetris up in the green room to focus my mind a bit. Oh and the cool-factor of performing at the Opera House is nothing to be sneezed at.
It's good. It just needs to be gutted. How harsh am I?
Tags: Building, Sydney Opera House.
And another thing, it's nice to see that, over the four weeks I was away from the city, World Square and the NEW Sydney Hilton were opened. I took a walk through the middle of the Hilton (reminding myself that this is location of the infamous terrorist attack pre 9/11 and the War On Terror...) and felt quite underwhelmed. Ground level, it looks like any other office foyer. I do like the tower itself and I guess that the rooms would be pretty swish. I'll get back to you on that one.
