Unlearning takes time. Yet in a couple of hours, I had trained myself to look at the enormous screen that blocked my view to the stage. I caught myself many times standing and looking around it, still searching for the full proscenium picture and cleaning it that way. It’s a mistake: our piece is designed for a digital audience, so cleaning the shots is what I had to do. Refocused on a screen that showed me four different shots of the same second.

Enters the camera director, ready to command the two days assigned for video capture. Daniel has been in many rehearsals, and we have talked a lot about what is it that I’m looking for: the story I want to tell in each vignette. A new field to explore, to balance what I see with what I want to see. As I said, my screen has four camera shots: Cameras 1 and 3 are stationed right and left in Row F. Great for close ups and cross shooting. My favorite shots are always in these cameras. Camera 2 is on a dolly, quite close to stage; it’s operated mechanically and allows everything to float. Camera four is a wide-open shot from row J, the one that captures full views.

Enters the editor. Ben will now choose from all the material taped. 2 takes, four cameras, 8 takes. I’m sure he has a trained eye to understand what shots to use. And I wonder how he organizes such a large amount of equivalent information. He is really the architect of the final product.

I know how to guide the eye of the audience on a live spectacle. Live shows depend on performers and how they deliver each performance. They will never be the same. It’s part of the excitement. Here, they will freeze in time. The editor will not let “upstaging” happen. Now, even before the show “opens”, it’s not on my desk anymore. A very strange sensation. The waiting game begins, and I will see the first edition soon… and then, four shots will be once more, one.