There's only one word to explain my lack of posts for 9 months: WORK!
And I can't complain about that.
Since June of 2011, I've worked on ten productions in various capacities, but mostly designing props. Of those ten, five have been at my new full time place of employment: the Arden Theatre Company. Currently in its 24th season, the Arden is a nationally recognized LORT D and C house with a reputation for creating high quality productions with amazing actors, directors, designers and an outstanding in-house production staff. While here I've already had the pleasure to work with acclaimed scenic designers Dan Conway, David P. Gordon, James Kronzer and Tom Gleeson. Some pics of the Arden productions follow. All photos courtesy of Arden Theatre Company.
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
The infamous family dinner for TWELVE with all real food. Actors feasted on roasted chicken, green bean casserole, collard greens, roasted potatoes and biscuits along with both ice tea, red and white "wines".
The family photo shows off the set table for the dinner scene as well as the custom built table. The table top was switched out at intermission to extend it while the base remained the same. The tablecloth was also custom made as none existed in just quite the right dimensions.
The couch seen in this shot had quite a journey during the process of putting together this show. It started as a steal - $35 sofa bed found at my favorite thrift store. After the costs of fabric and the labor for reupholstering and transportation to and from, it ended up being an $800 couch.
THE WHIPPING MAN
Set at the end of the Civil War in a bombarded manor in Richmond, Virginia, this played called for both period props and highly distressed props. We rented most of the furniture and created most of the other props in house. The picture to the right shows the Seder meal scene. I like this shot as it shows a lot of hand props, but also the mattress we built for the production and the two practicals built for the show. The lantern on the banister and the candelabra on the pedestal were both rigged up by our Master Electrician, Martin Stutzman.
Here again is a shot of a third practical - the lantern attached to the end of a rifle. Like all the other candles onstage (save the one on the trunk in the first picture) it was electric. Also seen are one of seven different whiskey bottles used throughout the production.
This final shot is again from the Seder meal scene and shows two of my favorite props from the show. The first, in the actor's left hand, is a piece of
hardtack which I made weekly for the show.
Consisting of wheat flour, water and salt it didn't take much artistry but was an exact recipe used in the era. The second, in the actor's right hand, is a homemade Haggadah. As it needed to be both period and in Hebrew, I found the easiest solution was to create one from scratch.
CHARLOTTE'S WEB
In our critically acclaimed production, we kept it simple. Doing away with the usual children's theater costumes and spectacular, we let the simple story of Wilbur and his friends shine through. In this shot, Wilbur gets used to his new home while sitting in his very own tractor tire. Luckily, this tire was able to be rented from Anything But Costumes and was a perfect fit for our show.
In this shot, you see Wilbur's pig trough, which I simply bought online, filled with my favorite prop from this show - the pig slops. I wrote a detailed blog on the Arden's website about the slops and you can check it out here:
http://ardentheatre.org/blog/page/2/
In this final shot, you can see the bronze medal presented to Wilbur on his last day at the County Fair. Its made from two paint can lids, glued together, with a cardboard star and laurels added, then painted bronze. Placed on a red, white and blue ribbon and it was done.
CLYBOURNE PARK
A particular challenge in this show is the propping and set dressing for two different time periods: 1959 in Act I and 2009 in Act II. The catch is that the acts take place in the same exact home with 50 years of age and distressing. Seen in the picture to the right, on the staircase is one of two Korean war army footlockers featured in the show which we made in house.
In this shot, from Act II, you can see the house is a bit more dilapidated and all the furniture and set dressing has been removed.
Back in Act I, this shot shows the china cabinet, table and chairs we bought for the production - a few of the pricier props I've procured in my time. The rug was rented again from Anything But Costumes. Also of note, is the sconce in the background. There were about seven sconces around the set that were all removed as part of the intermission shift. An amazing video of that shift can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46RakTesQAI&feature=player_embedded&noredirect=1
CYRANO
The beautiful set designed by Dan Conway called for 16 over sized gold-leafed picture frames. The production team and I collected and built the frames, then hand gold-leafed each one before suspending them in the air at an impossible angle. They each are fitted with a rear projection screen and two-way mirror surface so that they could alternate between mirrors and images as seen here in the infamous balcony scene.
My favorite prop in this show is the basket of tarts, sweets and pastries seen in this shot behind Cyrano on the table. While we rented several of the pastries, the Neapolitans and donuts were created in house by my prop intern Tate Obayashi and the set designer's assistant Paige Hathaway. Awesome work!
Obviously, Cyrano calls for weapons. With ten fight-worthy swords and six muskets and a dagger, the safety protocols have been well placed and the actors well trained by the fight director, Dale Anthony Girard. Also, in this pic are some of the 4000 autumnal leaves that fall during the transition in act II from 1640 to 1655.
MORE TO COME as we prepare for Robin Hood and Tulipomania: The Musical!
