UW Whitewater Theatre/Dance Department

Now that the show is up, I’ve been trying to catch up with grading and meetings.  I finally made it back down to the theatre this afternoon after student KCACTF project reviews (in preparation for the upcoming conference) to take a few pictures of the finished set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  A final note:   We will be striking the set Saturday night, moving it into the Barnett theatre until we learn from the KCACTF folks if it has been selected to travel to the conference in January.  If not, we get to dismantle it.  If yes, we have to find out what type of space they will put us into (proscenium, arena. . .?) and adjust accordingly.   Then we have to get rolling on “The Drowsy Chaperone,” the scenery of which is being designed by student Keenan Minogue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final two botanical prints, almost there.   The benches came back into the shop so I could finish the last of the stone treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finishing up the very last one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students Jayson Winslow and Sabrina Jones paint the pipes with burnt sienna and raw umber, being very, very careful not to get paint on anything else at all. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, technical director Steve Chene, with students Jayson Winslow and Dylan Liebert hang the final prints.  The set is done. Finally.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final stretch.  Three more of the botanical prints, in various stages of completion.  The one in the middle will become acorns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another one of the prints, finished.  That’s technical director Steve Chene, coming to get it and put it onto the set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The stones for the pond, done.  That’s student Chris James (also in the show) standing off to the side.  He’s about to pour water into the pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The set under worklights, as we wait for final dress to begin.  Is it done?  Not quite — two more prints to finish, a bit more stone work on the benches, and all the pipes need to go brown.  Am I happy that we are behind?  No.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During final dress.  Costume design by Tracey Lyons.  Lighting design by Steve Chene.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students Sean Jensen and Brendan McNally working on rock placement.  Brendan is sitting in the pond.  One of their tasks was to trim the stones to accommodate the pond structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

During rehearsal last night.  It’s at points like this, when we’re a bit behind, that I miss the students who decided to go ahead and graduate on time rather than stick around a few more years and continue developing their painting skills.  I’m talking about you, Candace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the prints I have so far painted in the air.  There are about eight more to go.  Today, however, is about carving rocks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the students covering the rocks with muslin and glue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The rocks, drying.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, the stone benches getting their stone treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of today’s botanical print frenzy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And they start going up into the air.   Fun note:  the students didn’t bother to glue together the beam foam before they started carving the rocks on Friday, which was not discovered until today.  So today, the foam is being glued, and tomorrow, I get to put aside my paint brushes and carve like the wind.  Excitement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The set for “Love’s Labour’s Lost” progresses.  The benches are built, but yet to get their stonework.  The piles of bead foam have been placed to work out the sizes of the stones to be carved.  The upstage pipes are in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of the botanical prints I worked on today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, students carving foam stones.  Though I had to go over and show them that whittling the whole thing down with a rasp was not the most efficient method. . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the Hicklen Theatre, with students laying out and gluing together blocks of foam for the rocks by the stream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My project for the afternoon — working on the botanical prints.  At this point, I have half of them traced out, and got four of those tracings colored today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pears, before final sepia wash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two completed flats, after the sepia wash.

 

 

Panels

 

 

 

 

 

 

Base coats on the platforming for “Love’s Labour’s Lost.”   Circuiting is happening at the same time, so that’s freshman Jake Taylor standing there with his lighting stick.   I’m glad he waited until the paint was dry.  The collage painting on the stage floor is left over from this past summer’s “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” designed by student Keenan Minogue.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that we were going to go with carpet, and I changed the rendering to reflect these textures.  Sadly, the budget won’t allow it, so we’re back to paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The final project for the scenic portion of Introduction to Theatrical Design was due yesterday, and here are some of the projects on the bulletin boards outside the classroom.  Students chose to work on one of these three plays:  “The Weir,” “The Holy Rosenbergs,” and Wole Soyinka’s version of “The Bacchae.”