Zelda Dungeon Exclusive: Backstage At The Zelda Symphony

Last month, I had an amazing opportunity to attend the Symphony of the Goddesses Master Quest in Orlando, Florida. The show was set for Saturday, July 18th and you have no idea how excited I was! Not only would I be attending the Symphony but I was also invited to attend the dress rehearsal, as well as have a few moments to spend with Jason Michael Paul, Executive Producer of the Symphony. In honor of the great experience and the kindness and generosity of those that I met on the evening of the Symphony I will be sharing my experience in a multi-part editorial starting with a backstage tour of the dress rehearsal for The Symphony of the Goddesses at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Orlando, Florida.

The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has yet to celebrate its one year anniversary in Orlando, having just opened in November of 2014. The venue has a 2,700 seat amplified hall named The Walt Disney Theatre were the performance was to be held. I arrived early the day of the show since although the main event wasn’t until 8pm, the dress rehearsal began at 3pm.

Once I made my way to the stage entrance I was greeted by a very nice gentleman by the name of Steven Lemke, Technical and Stage Director for the Symphony. As I followed Steven along we went through the backstage and into the beautifully classic wood-lined Walt Disney Theatre, where we were to watch the orchestra during the dress rehearsal and later on that evening attend the actual performance. Steven was kind enough to answer a few of my questions and let me know that we would have the place to ourselves, as their were only two other people that had been invited to the dress rehearsal. Before he bid us farewell he took a moment to snap a quick pic with me and then ran off to attend to his duties before the rehearsal got started.

As we awaited the start of the dress rehearsal I had some time to absorb my surroundings with almost no one else around, a privilege I would not squander. I took the opportunity to check out some of the aspects of the theatre that might otherwise be lost once it was full to the brim with Zelda fans and symphony goers alike. There are many aspects of what it takes to put on a production like this that I believe are lost on the average attendees, and with good reason as the throngs of people it takes to put on a symphony such as this work very hard to make sure their presence is as unfelt as possible.

Take for example the technical aspect, there are many cameras, computers, lights, and individuals that are working simultaneously to make sure the production runs as smoothly as possible. From ensuring  the sound quality is just right, that the lights dim and change on their intended cues, and most importantly for some that the video be streaming the beautiful scenes of Link, Zelda, and many other familiar faces above the orchestra. So much goes on behind the scenes that it amazes me that in most instances many of the people involved have but a few hours before each show to iron out all the kinks, not to mention for most of the crew this is the first time they are working these particular venues.

It’s not just the technical crew that is experiencing things for the first time during the dress rehearsal. For many of the musicians in the orchestra, they have never participated in a symphony of this kind before. While we waited I had a chance to meet one of the musicians, a freelance trumpet player named John. While we chatted I learned that this was his first time playing this venue, and like many of the other musicians he had not heard of The Legend of Zelda before. He was a local to the Orlando area and was excited by the music they would be playing. He shared that one of the hardest things from this performance was not that he had never played the music before, but that he knew that there was a video playing above him that might give him a little more insight to what was going on in the melodies he played, and that he had to keep himself from stealing a glimpse above. He wasn’t the only one that struggled with this. During the actual rehearsal we noticed one of the choir continuously look up at the screen behind her.

Once the dress rehearsal was to start, Amy Andersson Composer for the Zelda Symphony came onstage to greet the orchestra and begin the rehearsal. As the group started to work through some of the songs they were to play that evening, all of the other aspects of the show started to come into play. The video was running on cue behind them, the lights were being tested, and the sound was being checked to make sure no one missed a beat. All the while Amy and the orchestra continued to work through various songs from the program, repeating a few sequences here and there when she felt the orchestra could do a little bit better. The passion and energy that Amy inspired from the orchestra could be felt from our seats, and her desire to ensure the music was given its true place in the show was undeniable. She gave them words of encouragement when it was needed, and pushed them to do even better when she knew they could. They continued to work through several songs for the evenings performance all the while the other pieces of the puzzle were being fit in around them.

The rehearsal came to end, ahead of schedule no less and I couldn’t wait until the evenings performance. When I was first given this chance to attend the dress rehearsal I was a bit worried that in doing so it might ruin the magic of the evening, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Witnessing first hand the passion, dedication, and hard work that it takes to put on this production made it all the more special in my eyes. Being there as some of these musicians experience the music for the first time, watching their wonder and amazement as they can’t keep their eyes off the screen, and feeling the buzz of excitement that filled the empty theatre is something that I will never forget. Thank you to all that made this a possibility for me, and thank you to those that worked so hard to bring this performance to life in Orlando. Look forward for more from this night at the Symphony when I get the chance to interview Jason Michael Paul!

Images Courtesy of: William Shane Whalin