It's been a long time since I've blogged...must have been busy.
With Jesus Christ Superstar wrapped, I focused on my next prop job, Theatre Horizon's THE CREDEAUX CANVAS by Keith Bunin. http://www.theatrehorizon.org/
What a fun show to prop. Right up my alley. The play takes place in an East Village artist's studio. Winston, played by Andrew Kane, is a painter working on his thesis and navigating the manic-depression of his roommate Jamie, played by Chris Bresky. Jamie's girlfriend, Amelia, played by Clare O'Malley, serves as the wedge between the two men. In a small but pivotal role, Susan Giddings rounds out the stellar cast as Tess, an art collector and socialite misled by Jamie into the possible purchase of a Credeaux "original" actually plagerized by Winston. It's an intense show that blends artistic philosophic rhetoric and complicated sexual relationships quite well. Director Matt Decker nailed this one, as usual, and gathered an amazing team of designers and crew to create an intoxicating theatrical experience.
The joy I had as the Prop Designer on this show was creating the world of Winston's art studio. Set Designer, Maura Roche, created a claustrophobic world of grimy, paint splattered and dirty brick walls, covered in sketches, paintings, canvases and pictures torn from art books. Below is the scale model designed and constructed by Maura:
As you can see the place is a bit of a mess. Creating a "mess" can be a real challenge as a designer. As the Prop Designer, one of my favorite jobs is set dressing. The script calls for all manner of art supplies, materials and artwork. Maura and I went through countless art books and magazines to find the right pictures that Winston hangs on his wall. I was able to procure all of the art supplies, materials, paintings and sketches through the generous donations of several local artists and the Greater Norristown Art League, who are also presenting an exhibition of their members' works in the lobby of the theater during the run of the show. http://www.gnal.org/
One of the challenges of this "mess" was maintaining actor safety. There are two fight sequences and the area of these had to be strategically clear while not appearing clean. Another, and perhaps greater challenge, was the easels used in the show. We have two: one which Winston paints on (seen in the model above) and the other a display easel that is brought on with the infamous Credeaux canvas. Finding the easels was hard enough, but being able to clear sightlines was the real challenge. To allow actors to be seen while viewing a canvas on the display easel downstage, I had to cut the legs down (we went inch by inch until we found the right height - only took about 7 tries).
Finally, the bane of most prop designers' job - consumbables. This production calls for edible muffins and a ton of beverages - coffee, vodka, orange juice, Maker's Mark... To defray costs, we received a generous donation from Wegmans. After a day of shopping, I brought over 30 muffins, 4 gallons of apple juice, 2 gallons of orange juice and enough food dye to make "coffee" to the theater. And that was just the first food run...
If you are able to catch this one, it is well worth the trip to Norristown. The show runs through April 30th!
Below are some pictures of the finished design and set dressing in more detail:
With Jesus Christ Superstar wrapped, I focused on my next prop job, Theatre Horizon's THE CREDEAUX CANVAS by Keith Bunin. http://www.theatrehorizon.org/
What a fun show to prop. Right up my alley. The play takes place in an East Village artist's studio. Winston, played by Andrew Kane, is a painter working on his thesis and navigating the manic-depression of his roommate Jamie, played by Chris Bresky. Jamie's girlfriend, Amelia, played by Clare O'Malley, serves as the wedge between the two men. In a small but pivotal role, Susan Giddings rounds out the stellar cast as Tess, an art collector and socialite misled by Jamie into the possible purchase of a Credeaux "original" actually plagerized by Winston. It's an intense show that blends artistic philosophic rhetoric and complicated sexual relationships quite well. Director Matt Decker nailed this one, as usual, and gathered an amazing team of designers and crew to create an intoxicating theatrical experience.
The joy I had as the Prop Designer on this show was creating the world of Winston's art studio. Set Designer, Maura Roche, created a claustrophobic world of grimy, paint splattered and dirty brick walls, covered in sketches, paintings, canvases and pictures torn from art books. Below is the scale model designed and constructed by Maura:
One of the challenges of this "mess" was maintaining actor safety. There are two fight sequences and the area of these had to be strategically clear while not appearing clean. Another, and perhaps greater challenge, was the easels used in the show. We have two: one which Winston paints on (seen in the model above) and the other a display easel that is brought on with the infamous Credeaux canvas. Finding the easels was hard enough, but being able to clear sightlines was the real challenge. To allow actors to be seen while viewing a canvas on the display easel downstage, I had to cut the legs down (we went inch by inch until we found the right height - only took about 7 tries).
Finally, the bane of most prop designers' job - consumbables. This production calls for edible muffins and a ton of beverages - coffee, vodka, orange juice, Maker's Mark... To defray costs, we received a generous donation from Wegmans. After a day of shopping, I brought over 30 muffins, 4 gallons of apple juice, 2 gallons of orange juice and enough food dye to make "coffee" to the theater. And that was just the first food run...
If you are able to catch this one, it is well worth the trip to Norristown. The show runs through April 30th!
Below are some pictures of the finished design and set dressing in more detail:
