UW Whitewater Theatre/Dance Department

Scenic design for “Romeo and Juliet” is finally done.

Now that “Into the Woods” is done and gone, our attention turns to “Romeo and Juliet” (while Dancescapes goes into tech this coming week). With two pivoting units, Angela (the director) has been eager to get more dimensional representation to help with blocking. My sad little model — in progress — is pictured above. It’s just enough to help her figure out what is where and what can be seen when which unit is turned which way. One of the challenges of teaching and designing is doing both at the same time — you can either catch up with grading papers and preparing coursework, or you can work on a model. And when you work on a model, you still have to get information to the TD so the set can be built. Which is why the model is just barely adequate.

On the other hand, here’s a picture much closer to what the set will look like, in Sketch-up. The pivoting units are already being framed up in the shop.

First, since we have rotating units that get used from all angles and they’ve already started blocking and fight choreography, I’ve started putting together some rough models Romeo and Juliet can have in rehearsal to better understand what that have to work with.

Then, in the shop, we’re starting in on trees and tree frames for Woods. We’re painting all the bits of the frames before assembly — which will make life much, much easier.

Since we’re going to eighteen feet on threes, we have to lengthen the sonotube elements. In the back, there, TA Keri works on covering the tubes with muslin in preparation for painting.

My project for the afternoon was working on the giant hand. The fingers will eventually be articulated, but I wanted them to at least get to work with it for size and weight over the weekend.

And here’s TA Anna lost in the forest. . .

Had a talk with the director of Romeo and Juliet, Angela Iannone, the other day, and made more progress on the two pivoting units. Some elements are placeholders — the scaffold will probably not be simply pipe, and the glass block is there to stand in for eventual translucent elements. But I think we’re close.

Now to build actual models of the units so folks like the fight choreographer can start seeing how these work in the space.

Working up arrangements for the two central pivoting units for our upcoming steampunk Romeo and Juliet.

Finished working up the houses for “Into the Woods:”

And here they are in the space:

A further push on “Into the Woods,” figuring out the railings, platform bracing, what boughs go where, etcetera. Above is a picture of it freestanding on the groundplan. Below is the model loaded into the Barnett, with masking yet to come.

I think I’ve finished working out the upstage line of platforms. . .

One of my winter break projects is to get all of Woods drafted and into Steve’s (our TD) hands so building can commence on day one of the semester. Even after figuring out the structure, there’re still all the other bits and bobs to lay out — like the houses. And the giant. And Milky White. With all the bracing under the platforming, I found it was much easier to just build it all in Sketchup rather than attempt to draft it, especially with all the angles and parts that overlap other parts.

Having gotten the framing structures and the platforming drafted, I’m working up the 3D model. Here are a number of the separate standing units. When I get them all drawn, I will assemble the whole thing like a bunch of tinkertoys.