I recently offered to help a good friend with the set design
of his grand-daughter's school production of Oklahoma (a feat that I vastly
underestimated). Any visions that I had of being applauded for my spectacular
stage design disappeared fast as I climbed the twenty-foot ladder for the
umpteenth time.
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| Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/workshop-tools-equipment-wooden-984022/ |
While challenging, I found the experience immensely rewarding. Even though it was a small production, I soon began to realise why things happened as they did. For instance, mid-way through the second day, I helped cart out the first "flat” before returning to the dizzy heights of my ladder. A lad stayed behind to peer up at me. I felt like Michelangelo looking down at the Pope, countering his wrath with "WHEN I'M FINISHED!" Showing my age now....
What surprised me most during the design was just how
quickly the adhesive we used to join the materials together, dried. By ten I
found myself putting the finishing touches to "Clambake”. Tea break,
anyone? The production is yet to preview, but I can't wait to see it. Sure
enough, I'll be waiting in the wings with a roll of gaffer tape for when
something goes wrong. In the meantime, I'm determined to learn more about set
design.
One of the wonderful things about retirement is that
sometimes, incredible opportunities arise and of course, I have an abundance of
time to fill. So, when one of the other men working on the production offered
me the chance to visit his set design workshop to see how the experts do it, I
couldn’t have agreed any quicker.
We had months on our side to build a set for our little
production, but staging companies and set designers work to much tighter
deadlines. This was always my main fascination with the process. Just how do
they build sets so quickly. So, I asked. The answer; “spray
contact adhesive”, accompanied by a wry smile. As I toured the cavernous
carpentry workshop with my guide Clive I was impressed by the quiet but
cheerful professionalism of the set builders. Earnest conversations were taking
place between groups of people poring over designs, peering into a model box
and studying the computer visualisations of revolving scenery before each peeled
off into their own smaller department and the circular saws started up their
ear-piercing music.
On the opposite side of the room a team of joiners
-"chippies" -stretched lengthy canvasses on lofty frames, adhesives
on standby before the finished article was carried by what looked like ten
people over to an A frame, ready for scenic artists to play their part in the
production line. Sashes were being slotted into thirty-foot windows with an
efficiency which would make any DIY aficionados' eyes water. Generations of
opera and stage sets must have employed these same skills, from Garrick to the present day.
My guide, however, was keen to show me modern developments
such as the impressive CNC router which was carving some intricate Moorish
design into a beautiful piece of golden timber. All this from a PDF or vector
file! He explained to me that investment in this equipment had enabled him to
cut the cost to the customer while delivering a fast and accurate
representation of the original design.
At the far end of the workshop welders were producing
streams of sparks, reflections dazzling their visors as they bent close to
their task.
At my approach they were happy to demonstrate the sturdy
trellis-like gate they were finishing, which appeared solid to my inexperienced
eye but would apparently be light enough to be moved across the stage by only
two actors. As we moved into the slightly quieter environment of Clive’s office
I immediately spotted several of the original designs for pieces now built with
glorious 3D precision out on the shop floor. The walls were in fact covered by
key designs for current projects, ranging from TV sets to cruise ships, with a
soupcon of opera along the way. The range of finishes to the sets Clive showed
me were astonishing even close up, and I made a mental note to visit the latest
soon-to-preview new musical soon to hit Shaftesbury Avenue.
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