It's been just less than a week since the production for Sound of Music closed and the pictures you see below are all that is left of the set. As it is par for the course of things around here, the set is taken apart/down and disposed of (or stored in the case of certain pieces being able to be used again) immediately following the last show of the production's run. I have yet to be a part of the disassembling of any of the sets I have helped design and produce because doing that requires me to come to the last show of the run. I usually go to one of the first showings for two reasons - 1) I don't want to be a part of the "calling out" for thank yous where the cast/crew is asked to come up on the stage and be spotlighted and 2) I think it would be kind of traumatic for me to be a part of the tearing a part of the set and I would just rather not be a part of it. (Seriously.) Anyway, here are some of the pictures I took for portfolio purposes - both for my own and for some of the students who really took the initiative to be a part of the set painting... One single sophomore student did the majority of the mountain range work. The pine trees at the base of the mountains were done collectively by all of the visual art classes leading up to opening night. A view of the whole mountain range taken from the audience. Standing on the stage and looking left of the mountain range. Standing on the stage and looking right. Standing on the stage and looking at the center portion of the mountains. The modular/folding archways in front of the mountain ranges were meant to suggest the inside of the Von Trapp family's estate. This is a closer view of the back wall that is the staircase of the Von Trapp family estate. The columns are cardboard and wood and painted to imitate marble. These are large arches that are supposed to represent the abbey of the nunnery . They were texture painted to resemble brick/stone using sea sponges and dry brush technique. Would love to take the credit for this but all I did was order the material for it. My lovely colleague at the lower school made four different faux stained glass windows collaboratively with a 1st grade, 2nd grade, and 5th grade class. They used an acrylic sheet called Dura-lar for the support. After they finished designing/painting it, we cut it out and then stapled it to the wood frame. We also covered it with matte mod podge to reduce the glare that occurred when the stage lights hit it. A small stained glass window that was supposed to be seen in Mother Superior's abbey office. I had such a good time doing the artistic direction for this production (as I always do no matter how much I fuss about it) and I learned so much! My biggest lesson was this: the students I work with can and should be saddled with an immense more responsibility than I ever permit myself to give them. Seriously! The student leadership I saw emerge and the ridiculous TALENT (more than anything) was just unfathomable at times. This production was my third one being a part of added to Godspell and the Diary of Anne Frank. Not sure what next year's big plans will be but I hear it might be Hairspray. We'll see!
Today was both good and bad. GOOD: Our trip to Bellevue East High School. At 2:15 Fischer gathered Alex, Audrey and I in her room and we set out for Bellevue. We arrived at the school and saw a clearly marked "Auditorium" and went to the backstage door where the theatre department has a huge workshop and the teacher greeted us there and took us on a tour. We got to see the huge stage as well as learn that on either side there are stage manager booths with TV's that get a live feed of the stage from the light/sound booth and headsets and a cordless mic and right then and there I became extremely jealous. We toured the backstage area and the curtains available to us and then he took Audrey and I up to the light/sound booth which was very organized and fantastic and he told us he would have a sound guy up there on Saturday to do whatever we wished. Fish and Alex were on stage talking to actors in his class. Then he took us to where our "homeroom" will be and we looked around some more and talked about logistical things in our play and then we left. It was a wonderful auditorium and I look forward to performing in it. their stage their light board BAD: Rehearsal. In general. I don't understand why the actors are so disrespectful, but they are to Audrey and me. Maybe it's because it's a class, maybe it's because there are forty people, maybe it's because we've gotten down to crunch time and still have tons to do and perfect. And not everyone is rude, a few people are awesome about listening to us, but I've got to admit the majority of people don't listen to us. I know we can't really have the authority that Fish does, but we can tell the actors what to do. We tell them to put props back where they go; ignored. We tell them to be quiet; they oblige, for about 30 seconds. I feel like everything I said today went right over actors heads. My job is not easy. Not everyone can do it. And when people don't appreciate all I do for this program it drains me and doesn't make we want to come back. I love stage managing, but today in my eyes was particularly bad. I had a good day until rehearsal. Hopefully it's just a day, but this has happened before. With all the stress of school, I don't need something I love to just make me stressed. I hope that Fish will talk to everyone and things will change for the better. But at this point, I just don't know. £åµ®∑n
We have the full Annie set for hire from Scenery Solutions, delivered direct to your theatre and collected after you have finished. What could be easier?
Ebenezer Scrooge. The Grinch. Imogene Herdman.
In creating my other Lens on theater set design (look in the right column), a few questions kept popping up from visitors - because I hadn't thought of them. So, Finally, Here are a few answers to the puzzles that a theater production can...
Buy the best Modern Nativity Sets selected and recommended by interior designers.
Drew Hoopingarner and his team from Southport Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN wanted to create a cathedral look for their worship center for the Advent Season. (Originally posted April 2015…
John Lindsey from Young Americans Christian School in Conyers, GA brings us this cool use of flagging tape.
Joe Stratford from Catch the Fire in Toronto, Ontario, Canada brings us this design using tons of tiny lines. (Originally posted June 2012)
Drew Hoopingarner and his team from Southport Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN wanted to create a cathedral look for their worship center for the Advent Season. (Originally posted April 2015…
This weekend I used SketchUp to design plans for a three sided, rotating stage scene device called a periaktos . The picture does not incl...
Not only was All Our Happy Days Are Stupid deemed unstageable, the failure inspired a novel. So why is it now drawing audiences – and praise – in New York?
What is the prompt hierarchy and how can it help you promote student independence in the classroom? Read this article to find out!
Javier Negron/Rich Henrie from Bethel Assembly of God in Jessup, MD brings us these PVC pipe pieces.
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The Imaginists Theater Collective - www.theimaginists.org/
The amount of visual supports some of our students need to be successful both academically and socially can be overwhelming. Just imagine, if it’s overwhelming to us as teachers, it has to be way too much for our students who struggle with executive functioning skills, like organization, to handle! I’ve found that once we’ve introduced ... Read More about Setting Up a Student Success Binder
Todd Reed brings us this liturgical stage design incorporating home-made stained glass windows.
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
