Rosebud Costume Blog: Set Build Day 1

Today is a day I have been excited about for a long time and it felt great to finally be 'doing' rather than relentless ordering, organising and speculating! I met Richard and Amber on site at 8.30 where John had done the get out the previous evening so all our materials were ready and waiting, including all the stuff ready for Debs on Monday. We began by making the pallets which is great not only due to recycling the wood used in In Extremis but also means, unlike bought pallets, we can ensure they are completely sturdy and sound for the actors use. The first obstacle we came across was the spacing between the wood strips of the pallets. If done correctly to scale they would be 50mm apart, but this space is too large and would be dangerous with the level of physical activity carried out on them by the actors. As their well being is of prime concern this gap was reduced to the wood thickness of 20mm to prevent any toes being caught in inconvenient and painful gaps! The pallet width was then reduced overall due to this decision which won't have a huge implication on their formation only making it narrower. We will have to ensure in the get in that the Pallets connect to the stage rostra where the painting is rather than the pros itself so the actors can still walk down from the stage onto the pallets. Once this was resolved these came along very quickly and as Richard and I began to make the Pros arch framework Amber continued to work on the dissected Pallets.

The frame work came along quicker than I expected as Richard had pre-cut all the angles for the joins which, done by machine, was totally accurate and made assembly far less time consuming. I had a first attempt on a circular saw which was great as well as practising how to cut at different angles. Once the frame for each leg and the top part of the Pros were created it was time to clad. This proved slightly more challenging due to the extra piece being added to hide the curtain pole.

Once the first piece of 2x6 mdf cladding was applied we used the Autocad drawing to work out the distances from the edges of the mdf and the existing framework to calculate the right angles and lengths to create the correct silhouette shown in my set model. This again needed some slight adjusting due to the added piece. Once Richard had accidentally sawed the triangle of the top right of the pros...it was time to call it a day....

Pallets

Viola! First half of a pallet, the planks for the reverse side just need to be added.

Making sure the ends of the planks match the length below. The width of the 2x3 was used to do this.

Completed pallet no.1! Another bonus feature of re-using In Extremis wood is that the inside of the pallet is already painted and won't need to be redone!

Dissected pallet which has been fully reinforced at the 45 degree angle end for the actors safety.

Pros Framework

Starting out with the cut angled pieces using Autocad as reference. All pieces are labelled with number at the top.

No.1 flush to the 2x3 timber piece.

The framework progressing, making sure for each cut piece it is flush to the timber frame.

First section of framework finished ready for cladding!

Creating the longest part, the top of the Pros but still able to fit in the get-in truck!

A technique to enforce a weak joint such as this as the wood is at such an angle. Drill in a thicker piece of wood the opposite side of the join so the screws are stronger rooted into the wood.

Lefthand side and top of Pros frameworks with extra frame added for the lower pros arch on thebottom right of the top piece.

Final frame coming together. I cut the braces for the middle section on the circular saw.

A different type of join above piece 13 to add strength to the framework. A section of wood is chipped away and the perpendicular piece of wood is wedged, then screwed in.

Complete final frame begins to be clad. The mdf piece being flush to the base of the frame.

Using Autocad to draw out the angular silhouette of the Pros.

Richard matching the framework underneath with a piece of wood and drawing out on top of the structure to ensure screws are drilled into the right place.

The pros clad and cut down, screws have been added around the edge of the frame for stability/security. Richard matching up the top and right pros pieces to check they are going to connect as planned..