PROJECT LENGTH: 8 Weeks
PROJECT GOAL: Design, build, and dress the set for a production of Aladdin.
SET DESIGN FLOW CHART
DETERMINING DUTIES
After meeting with the show director to discuss how she envisioned the set, my supervisor and I sat down to dive deeper into each set piece. There were a lot of factors to consider, such as how heavy the pieces can be, how tall, and how much time we had.
After our discussions, we decided I would take the lead on The Magic Carpet, The Cave of Wonders, and various other painting tasks.
WOODWORK
From there, I found an image I liked and sketched it on a piece of transparent paper so I could project it onto two stacked 4'x8' panels and trace my sketch.
After using a jigsaw to cut out my shape, I used scrap wood to screw the two panels together, and joint filler to hide the seam that resulted. Then, of course, I sanded everything down to prepare for paint.
FROM SCRATCH
One of the most challenging parts of this design was trying to use only recycled materials. It is important when in a shop to try and reuse pieces and panels from past shows. So when painting, I could only use the gallons available. Having a color palate made this process extremely easy.
I began by browsing lots of images of the Cave of Wonders, and pulling colors out to create a color pallet for my project. Despite him being made of sand, the moonlight gives him a mostly blue palate.
CREATING A "SET PIECE"
Once painted, I used "L" brackets to attach the Cave of Wonders to a platform I had attached wheels and brakes to previously.
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL
We wanted the piece to be able to turn around for the following scene, so I painted and dressed the back to be the inside of the cave, sandy and full of gold treasures. Another constraint was that we needed the piece to be light enough so that the children in the show could make the scene change themselves, so I used foam as gold bricks and filler for the massive chests and crates.
MAGIC CARPET
My boss and I worked together to assemble a hydraulic lift to work as the imperative magic carpet for the show, then it was my job to paint!
HIDING THE UGLY
To hide the lift, I attached black felt along the edges of the carpet, I made sure it was fairly large so that the carpet could move up and down without any mechanisms showing.
AGRABAINIAN PALACE
The main set piece was the Sultan's palace, it needed to be huge but upstage enough to allow for drops to fly in front of it so other scenes could take place.
FAKING IT
The palace looks extremely nice, but look closely! The balcony posts are painted to appear three-dimensional. As are all of the towers.
PLATFORMS
The entire is made from platforms clamped together from underneath with legs screwed in. I assembled the grand staircase and painted it so there appeared to be a carpet.
