ELY- One of the biggest stars in the Ely Memorial High School production of “Disney’s Frozen – The Broadway Musical” has no lines and sings no songs, but has a part in every scene. This performer is the stage technology for the musical, provided by Dodd Technology Inc., a nationally prominent lighting and production tech company based out of Pendleton, Ind.
Dodd Technologies provides lighting, audio, rigging, set design, and other production services for big-name clients like the NBA All-Stars and Mandalay Casino Arena. Now the company is providing these same professional services for the production of “Frozen” here in Ely.
What’s the cost of all this state-of-the-art stage tech? Absolutely nothing. It’s a donation from Mark Dodd, the owner of Dodd Technologies.
Connections
Sometimes it’s who you know. Mark Dodd was a high school friend of Mike and Billie Rouse’s. Mike is the K-12 vocal music teacher for the Ely School District and is the teacher in charge of the musical. Billie, Mike’s wife, is one of the volunteers from the community, having taken on the role typical of a producer, i.e. coordinating the volunteer staff and arranging almost everything.
“I met Mark in high school, in 1971-72,” Billie told the Timberjay. “We attended Hamilton Southeastern High School together, just outside of Fishers, Ind. When we started this project, I contacted Mark and asked, ‘Can you help us with anything for the show?’ and he said, ‘You go ahead and dream as big as you can dream.’”
After consulting with the rest of the production crew, Billie told Dodd that it would be great to have stage mics for the kids, good stage lighting, and several other wish-list items. Dodd said, “Sure, whatever you want.”
Billie had to mention to Dodd at this point that Ely was a small school and the musical had a small budget. Dodd told her it wouldn’t cost anything.
“This isn’t for a budget,” Dodd said. “This is what you do for friends.”
A gift from Dodd
Mark Dodd’s donation to “Frozen” in Ely is substantial. “He’s provided mics, lights, snow machines, a hazer, the projectors, the projector operator,” Billie related. “He’s provided two round-trip tickets from Indianapolis, the operator’s salary, and anything that the operator may need while he’s here.”
The production equipment operator from Dodd Technologies, Robert Gough, has been with the firm for 26 years. “I’ve been there longer than anyone else, other than the Dodd family,” Gough told the Timberjay.
Gough has worked on some mammoth production jobs over the years. “The biggest was at the Anaheim Hilton (Convention Center) in California. “It was two weeks long, used 13 semis, and a crew of 60,” Gough recalled.
Gough traveled to Ely to set up the stage equipment during the first week in January. It took him three days to assemble everything before he returned to Indiana. His work included dressing the proscenium arch with special paper so it could be used as part of the scenery and set projections. The projectors are monsters, taking up rows X, Y, and Z in the center section of Washington Auditorium. Their placement is why there are no seats for sale in the center section past row W.
The graphics used by the two huge projectors are either from Disney or designed by Gough. “The video on the back screen is provided by Disney,” Gough explained. “The custom graphics around the stage proscenium is what I created to make it fit magically. For the opening and intermission, I wanted to represent images of and around Ely.”
Gough will return to Ely on Jan. 15 and will stay to operate the stage equipment for all four performances of “Frozen.” Then he will break it down and pack it up for shipping back to Pendleton.
He told the Timberjay that his first trip last week to Ely was all business, and that he had no time to see the local sights. He added, “When I return on Jan. 15, I have several local spots I plan on visiting. Billie has been wonderful in pointing out what to see and do.”
When asked what his impression was of the Ely area, he was impressed by Ely’s “good-hearted people,” adding that “I love the small-town feeling … There is an unspoken and respectful (feeling) here that makes me want to return.”