250709 Between the Fractures

Unexpected Access & Emotional Impact

This shoot came out of nowhere. I asked my friend Kat (a fellow PSC grad) if they wanted to come with me to The Butterfly Club. They offered to take some photos of me while I worked (even photographers end up on the other side of the lens sometimes).

We checked in with Shannon and I met Jaye (writer and director) from Small Dog Productions. She invited us to photograph a rehearsal of her show Between the Fractures. She even offered for the cast to perform the full show in costume just for us.

I showed Kat around The Butterfly Club, then we headed to the upstairs theatre to photograph the rehearsal. The show was emotionally powerful and very well past the early rehearsal stages. They went through the whole process: trigger warnings, lighting cues, scene transitions.

The Pace of the show was quite steady so I had space to experiment with slower shutter speeds, which I felt really captured the theme and emotional tone of the piece.

After the show, we applauded hard. Jaye shared that it evolved from personal experience. I thanked them for the honour of letting us into their mind, their experiences. It didn’t matter what was true or not, because the show left enough space for the viewer to bring their own experiences to the show and create their own meaning. It has a slightly different truth for each person that sees it which makes it incredibly powerful. I'm also very grateful for the hopeful ending. We all need that right now.

Reflection

• What worked: being in the right place at the right time and open to opportunities

  
  

• What didn’t: not planning my photographer-in-action shoot with Kat.

  
  

• Next time: Set basic goals even for casual shoots. Keep saying yes to spontaneous opportunities.