Lights, cameras, ‘Peanuts’

Illustration by Yuca Kosugi/The Advocate

With a full time faculty staff of only one, the theater department has to rely heavily on part-time employees.

Matt Pavik works part-time as the Assistant Technical Director for the Mt. Hood Community College theater department. He graduated from MHCC and went on to study theater arts at Portland State University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts in December 2010. He was hired at MHCC in 2011.

Pavik said Daryle Harrison-Carson, theatre technical director and instructor, hired him because being department chair means she needs to attend meetings three days out of the week.

Asked what his job duties and hours are like Pavik said, “I’m here noon to 5p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.” He said, “I take care of all the shop work and I’m here to supervise the students and make sure they’re working safely.”

After his MHCC work hours Pavik said he is currently acting in a production called “Lake Hollywood “at Profile Theater in Portland.

Pavik has been assigned as the lighting designer for the upcoming spring musical “Snoopy!!!”

Asked if he has experience outside of class work Pavik said, “I’ve been doing lighting for 15 years. I did lighting for a meta-theatrical, murder mystery, musical comedy called ‘Fight Call,’ that was pretty different from ‘Snoopy!!!,’ because in ‘Fight Call’ I had to highlight all of the on stage action but what was going on backstage was part of the production. The lighting is so different behind stage, it’s so dark and blue compared to onstage which is always bright and colorful.”

He said for this show the main focus has been to make everything appear cartoonish. Pavik said using very bright colors will make things appear much more like the actual cartoon. He said you very rarely see dull boring colors in cartoons. The other challenge he mentioned is to make the onstage characters and set appear as flat as possible. He said in the cartoon everything is 2-D and there are certain techniques that can make it appear more flat, including use of set and costume designs.

Pavik said the lighting is generally the last thing to be finalized after set and costume design because he takes his cues from the director. He and “Snoopy!!!” director and theater arts instructor Jennifer Hunter have been working very closely with each other, he said. Pavik added that before he started any actual lighting work he spent ten hours with Hunter to find out what type of feeling she wanted the lighting to give the show.

He said, “The things I need from the director is what will emphasize what they want to emphasize, then I need feedback that tells me if I’m doing it right or if I’m taking away from what they want. Hopefully I can add something to the show that the director hasn’t thought of.”

“I also have to consider what the other designers want, I don’t want to light a play in a way that will make the costume designer want to kill me,” Pavik said.
He said his biggest challenge in this show is the space limitations. He said, “There’s a lot more places I would like to put lights than is physically possible.”

Pavik said his favorite part of this play is the music, “All of the singers are talented, which is not usually the case in college musicals.”

“Snoopy!!!” opens Feb. 24 and runs through March 4. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets and show times are available at [email protected]. Tickets can also be purchased over the phone at 503-491-7154.

Advocate Staff