Burlington High School, a school that embraces technology and its role in education, has raised the bar once again with this year’s production of “Titanic, The Musical” by enhancing the performance with an array of multimedia effects.
Producing and Artistic Director John Middleton-Cox is a man known for his creative innovations in high school musical theatre. Calling upon Burlington High School science teacher and videographer Alan McRae to assist him, the two have created an opening video sequence that is unmatched by any other local high school or community theatre group. Integrating 21st century technology with an overture rich in orchestral sounds akin to the great British composers of the early 20th century, Middleton-Cox used MP3 technology with score in hand, translating his image of what each measure and frame should reveal. McRae then created the opening video sequence, a stream of historical images of the Titanic before and after its demise on April 15, 1912. The sequence instantly settles the audience into their seats through the images projected on a 40 foot cyclorama.
In addition to the opening video sequence, McRae created a “curtain warmer,” a pre-show and intermission animation of the Titanic sailing on the open sea drawn from the poster graphics of student designer Samantha Bressi. The audience will also have an historical down-to-the minute time stamp of the events through projections above the stage as the story progresses.
The animations of the sunken Titanic were created using Adobe Premiere Pro, a video editing software program. From stills of the ship McRae used the software to slowly magnify and move the images across the screen to resemble what might be viewed from an undersea video camera, followed by a reverse countdown from present day to the year of its maiden voyage created by a rapid succession of numbers saved as independent images. Finally, the grandeur of the Titanic is displayed in projected stills, resting on the ship’s blueprint as the curtain opens on the production.
“Titanic, The Musical” is a tragic story that promises to dismiss any memory of a single fictitious love story from blockbuster movie fame. It evokes a tidal wave of emotions from excitement and exhilaration to shock and despair. Audiences find themselves entwined in the stories of actual passengers who stepped on board the “ship of dreams” and how, when faced with unbelievable odds and a sinking ship, they had to make some incredible choices.
“Titanic, The Musical” will be presented March 19, 20, 26 and 27 at 7:30 pm and March 28 at 2:00 pm. Reserved seating tickets may be purchased online from Burlington High School’s new online ticket service, http://www.burlingtontickets.org/, or in the music office of the high school between the hours of 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens. For more information, please call 781-A-FUN-TIC. Performances will be held in the handicapped accessible Fogelberg Auditorium of Burlington High School located at 123 Cambridge Street, Burlington, Massachusetts.
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