Set Painting

This was the part I had been an exciting few days I have been looking forward to for a long time not only as it means the set is nearly complete and ready to be used but also as it will really bring the design to life, especially with our professional help! There was a lot to do in the time allowed which worried me at first but we pulled together and managed to do it.

The Proscenium Arch

The carved styrofoam by Ellen to recreate water texture created with bread knives  -  a long and  hard task!

Carving the curved out edges of the styrofoam edge.

My job to plot out where the printed text will go and the shapes as well as how to fill this negative space created  where the extra section to make the pulley has been added.

Base coat added and iron in position to dictate what needs painting.

View of the whole Prosc after day 1 of set painting, base coats on floor have also been added ready for detailing tomorrow.

Floor planks after one level of stain and Prosc flooring after day  1.

Carved pieces are painted with Idendem to enhance texture and ready them for painting tomorrow. They were put in the smaller room with the heater to help them dry as it is so cold in the studio space.

Idendem texture close up looks very much like my  set model.

Day 2 - Excerpts of text that were trimmed from other section re-used here. Black against rusted edge of iron looks really good. The black distorts the iron shape making it look more cubist.

Touching up sections with polyfiller also used to smooth out joins  in carving once stuck down with no nails.

Debs made a stencil based on the shapes in my model to create the cubist Autumn leaves. She loved my colour  use here which I was very complimented by!

My task of the morning was to collage the other bits of text so they had some time to dry prior to painting. I wanted to use every bit possible without waste.

Making sure the collage pieces meet at the join so it won't be visible when set is assembled.

Top section fully collaged ready for paint and stenciling complete.

Music notes and boarding to be added on once set is assembled as it crosses the join. I hope this will also help to disguise it.

Chevrons to fill in added section and beautifully painted musical notes.

Debs doing her thing.

Masking tape to recreate my design made with masking fluid. The colours are perfect and it looks just like my model - possibly my favourite part of decoration.

Pros almost complete!

Brick detailing added in white.

Tree structure connects iron to the rest of the decoration and relates to devastated trees of WWI

Water texture beautifully painted and spattered with white.

The whole pros was sprayed with a fine brown to knock the colour and prevent it being too harsh and looking more subtle like my design.

Completed painting after day 2! Looking simply stunning thanks to Debs.

Pallets, Boxes and Planks... oh my!

Wooden planks after first red toned wash of emulsion.

Pallets after 2 washes, stencils and spatters to be added. The darker stain over the top really adds to their aged quality .

Cut iron to the right height, will look great with floorboards

Painted box with planking different to my design - this was done to help the actors to move the block as they could then lift them by the horizontal strips. When arranged together with vertical and horizontal strips I think it will look quite cubist  as they are all geometric yet not identical.

Planked box prior to painting. Thinner strips of wood have been used than planned as the other wood made th blocks far too heavy to move around where as these don't add too much extra weight. I quite like how with the thinner wood the planking in enhanced by the larger black gaps.

Wooden planks after second set of darker staining which look a great colour.

Pallets after stencilling, I had them in the correct arrangement when I did this to make sure I didn't make a mistake.

Taller box to act as the Narrator's table needed a few more washes as it began white but had a lovely texture by the final coat.

Painted pallets for the back of the stage.

Pallets when spattering in emulsion has been added to look like spattered mud. I made sure I got in the gaps of the pallets so it looked like the mud had spattered their inside too.

Flooring for Proscenium stage

Initial coat which appeared very orange

Wood grain texture added by Debs special tool which gave amazingly realistic grain affect. They are very uniform at the moment and needed a cubist edge.

Collage sections added from remains of Prosc decoration.

Once text had been aged with stone colour to match pros and the pallets are more defined. The colour variation was better but I wanted more greens and texture as seen in my model.

Final pallet paint which seems very bold but from a distance and at an angle will look great. Really represents my design well especially now more angles, irregularities and shortened planks have been added. 

Final touches in black edging

Chairs

Calico was used to cover their fabric so we had a neutral base and they all relate to each other.

This was painted into with a dry brush in stone, grey and a reddier brown colours for a worn look. Ellen and I did this and we concentrated on the parts of the seat that get the greatest wear for an authentic look. This particular chair we didn't age the wood as it already looked the part.

Chairs all completed after painting and sanding, they look great as they relate to the restricted Prosc colour scheme  and have an antique feel as well as being varied but not too much so to maintain the look of my design.

We also dry brushed the tall stools to tie them into the overall colour scheme.

Chairs prior to work and blank calico seat which was stapled on over the exisiting fabric.

Extras...

Ellen and I measured the correct curtain length and roughed up the hem before adding mud spatters and dips with the emulsion. We used 2 different colours so it wasn't flat colour and the overall look was just as I wanted. We distressed the hem further and scrunched it up to make it look like an old strung up sheet readily cut to size for its new purpose.

Sign post made by Richard with added tones of white over the wood stain.

Door which I used to replace the piece of cabinet in my model as it has a similar form

Worked into with black to enhance it's shape and depth. 

Reflection: It is amazing looking at how similar this is to my model it is really bizarre seeing it this size. Although we managed to complete on time the task was made difficult by a few factors; the studio although very large and handy in that everything could be laid out to work on at once it's temperature meant that it not only took paint/ wall paper paste a lot longer to dry, slowing our work, but also meant there were limits to how long you could work before your hands were too cold however wrapped up we were! What's more it' location in Poole meant it was difficult to get helpers over who couldn't drive as I couldn't and Amber was the only person driving over. This wasn't helped either by up and coming deadlines so my requests for help were answered by few. Those who did help however were excellent and really brought the paint along with their hard work, Ellen particularly carving the styrofoam which was a big job. Another factor that delayed out work slightly was Amber being ill, leaving the boxes unfinished as she had to go home, luckily John and some of stage management came later on to complete these on time. These are things that I cannot really improve upon as they were coincidental with the time allowed but it always something to be wary of. I had a great time seeing Debs paint and learnt a lot in perfecting my technique and how to do things in minimum time/effort to create the maximum/ most dramatic effect possible. It was wonderful seeing it finally look complete. 

Costume Parade.

Soldier

Overall the Soldier went very well, and minimal changes are required. Obviously from the photos we still have no shoes at this moment in time as the ones we ordered from ebay looked far too modern when they were opened. We are therefor going to hire some shoes for Josh along with the Torbay hire items to be collected on Tuesday. We will therefore need to see how the putties fit with the boots when the time comes. It is essential these are dressed accurately when the time comes as they otherwise will show up the historical accuracy of the garment to be incorrect. Further dressing notes are that his hat must be worn correctly with the badge central and that his braces are level. The trousers need kneeing more to shoe authentic breaking down and the shirt will be washed every night to increase its look of wear. This means we may have to do some additional breaking down after it's washing that Emily originally did. The button needs to be sewn on for the hat and a Sam Brown belt is needed for the outer jacket we now have which will also be found at Torbay. I am so happy with this costume and how perfectly it represents my design down to the finest details such as the fit of the trouser and the buttoned front and collar. It is authentic yet unique to the character of our Soldier all at once. 

Front view

Back view

Jacket and Trouser are a very good colour match. 

 Princess

This also went very well and watching Rachel practice her dance moves made me realise how beautiful this dress truly is as it flows when she moves perfectly. There are minor changes such as adding fastening between the bodice and skirt and making the diamante chain more brown/black than yellow which it looks at the moment. There was debate about whether to remove the trimming from the peplum but in the end it was left as it was. Diamante chain as cuffs for cape looks lovely and colour of cape ties her and the Soldier together in colour as well as completing her costume with another colour so it is not so 2D. Her ballet shoes will have some embroidery added to match them to her gown and tie the whole costume together, I feel I have achieved a look of regality and elegance with this costume withough giving her a crown which I am very pleased about. 

Practicing in final garment to check dance moves are still possible which they all are.

Front view

Cowl back and cape

 Narrator

A further successful costume with minor changes, the white hanky will be changed to a brown Paisley/spotty silk scarf which Aimee will head out to buy as well as adding a watch chain to the waistcoat pocket. The suit needs to be pressed again and checked over as there looks like a tiny pull in the sleeve which hopefully will be resolved by this. The shoes need a professional polish and relacing so the laces run straight. A hat box will be provided to keep the hat in good condition. This costume encompasses the Narrator's important role and gentleman quality and this will be completed with the addition of watch chain/scarf to show his care for his appearance. I know the buttons have been changed from my specification but seeing them on the suit now I can see that they look sophisticated and blend in nicely with the fabric where as mine would have stood out too much.

 Devil 

Old Man

This costume looks good and only needs the turn up reducing my half and lowering the hem onto the foot by half. Dressing notes: top 3 buttons done up correctly, end of belt folded over. The coat however was a problem as during a misunderstanding when having helpers to breakdown the coat was dramatically broken down and destroying an item from our store as well as being totally out of keeping with the character.

 Cattle Merchant

The buttons will be changed with the ones orginially bought for the Narrator to give a more period look and the sleeves need to be let down a little more. Cravat needs an iron then screwing up as it is too messy at the moment. Wrong buttonhole to be removed from lapels (to be done by Dexter). Dressing notes: Cravat tie tucked into collar.

Washer woman

Boobs have been added and now outweigh her bottom half considerably which looks ridiculous. A petticoat will be found from the store to fill out her bottom half so it is in keeping with her bust. I do like the womanly affect it creates, weights and elastic straps will also be added to the bra so they look more saggy. The pinny will be looked at again with petticaots under skirt but at the moment it is creating the wrong shape, making her look more narrow so this may need replacing. Dressing note: Collar and buttons need to be over the shawl. Shawl tucked into apron. After the parade Dexter also  suggested putting the hanky in her sleeve rather than the pocket to alter it's location more which, on looking back at these photos, agree with.

Creating a better shape.

Violinist

This was the costume that drastically needs change due to a mistake made when taking in the trousers which were also very expensive. The trousers are completely the wrong shape for dress trousers and are now far too small so that she can't even tuck in the shirt as well as being entirely overlocked. Dexter is going to see if he can try and resolve them and Aimee is going to look for some mens 28inch dress trousers. The shirt and waistcoat need starching and small white buttons will be used on a flase button hole will be used as the fastening. Poppers are also needed at the collar for the quick change to be hidden by the bow tie. As the leotard will no longer be worn beneath gloves are not needed. The trousers are spoiling this outfit at the moment however all other aspects of the costume are nearly correct. 

Back view

Trousers are drainpipe not straight leg

Completely wrong silhouette for the era.

Devil Final Costume

First time the headdress and costume have been seen together and they look fantastic. Some adjustments needed for headdress so it fits comfortably/securely for dance but it tones in beautifully with the body suit. Again minor changes, more black feathers need integrating from hip pads up the bodysuit and a popper for the Devil's yolk at the back of the bodice. This looks so much like my design and looks as if she has crawled from the Earth as I planned. The headdress definitely adds to her stage presence which is fantastic, I am extremely satisfied with how it looks and moves. The hair needs to come off the shoulders a bit to expose the twig detailing but the headdress should help this.  

Reflection:


Despite some obvious mistakes and problems, overall the Parade was rather successful. There were issues with breaking down and supervision that also arose at this point. In the case of the trousers, but also the breaking down of the Old Man's Jacket where slashes were put into an item from the store. I am really ashamed this has happened under our hands and will know better next time that breaking down needs supervising and clear communication. Grace and I have sewn up the slashes made which has improved its appearance and the fullers earth will be brushed down so it isn't so obvious. I have learnt a valuable lesson from this about the importance of communication and how easy misunderstanding can occur. On a future occasion we would supervise any alterations etc to ensure they were completed as required and not to waste money and time. I am glad we have Dexter on hand from this point until the first performance to ensure that from now on this will not happen and we are professional and efficient in our remaining time, as well as helping us organise our Orchestra fittings.

Set Build Day 2

Matching up top and one side of prosc. to ensure we cut at the right angles/ the pieces meet correctly. 

Cutting the mdf to create correct sized cladding. Richard said  that idealistically he would have pre cut all cladding pieces  so once the frames were made  they could be stapled on easily. However, in this instance he did not have enough time.

Top piece fits! Ready to be screwed in.

This piece was reinforced afterwards with a timber framework as as it is so small it is likely to snap off during the  move to the Ocean Room. 

Using strips of timber to mark out the frame underneath to screw cladding into, this ensures a secure hold between cross and cladding and allows for less mistakes drilling into the cladding alone and hence making less holes in my lovely set!

Reverse view of entire Prosc clad showing the reinforced joins and carefully considered framework  needed to ensure it is safely and sturdily built.

Larger pieces of timber are added at joining points for when the Prosc is erected. This reinforces the join and will make it extra strong when fixed together with super screws.  

Adding the curtain rail baton for the curtain pulley system. Richard and I measured the distance between  the floor and the rail many, many times at different points along the Prosc to ensure it was parallel to the ground. The illusion of all the angles in the structure were very deceiving making it hard to tell by eye if it was correct. The final positioning looked completely incorrect but the tape measure confirmed it was in the right place!

All Pallets made and laid out in their format in the design. 

Making masking flats for sides of Prosc, these will also act as support and braces for the Prosc structure.  This is the frame work in its initial stage for which I drilled the holes for screws and screwed in the middle batons. Richard made sure that in each case the wood join was flush and was not twisting the wood as once this is created in the structure it can't be got rid of.

Corner supports to maintain it's shape/stability.

Covering the flat in black molten, serge is also appropriate.  Wool works best as it is dense and can be stretched to the right tension...which was lucky in this case as the fabric was about 3 inches too short however, with perseverance and a lot of stretching Richard made it work! 

Second side stapled - need to work from the middle outwards and really pull the fabric to its maximum  tension to staple each section.

Adding more staples to the corners so it holds its shape nice and tight. The smaller edges are done last as they are easier to pull taught. Richard also explained how posture is important with doing this task as I was bending over a lot to put in staples which would really hurt your body if you were to make 200 a day which they do, you need to stand nice and upright. He also said that where there are creases the fabric needs to be turned over as this is often visible on black.

The flat I made on top where the fabric is being trimmed away. John showed me that putting the staples in at an angle makes them hold better. I am very proud of my first ever flat, according to Richard I'd get the job!

Prosc structure with curtain baton and bracing. 

Amber cutting the styrofoam for the stream carving. I wanted to get this finished prior to Debs arrival tomorrow as she said it could take a long time and I will be off site at the costume parade all morning.

Cutting out neccessary pieces. We decided that it was best to add this foam  entirely to the top corner to be collaged as this change in height made from wood would add to much weight. This task I was very careful to make sure that the styrofoam didn't come proud of the join so they will meet correctly when the set is assembled.

Marking out which pieces are collaged and which are to be carved so it is clear during my absence tomorrow.As Ellen was present and will be helping with the set painting tomorrow I explained this to her so she could get it started first thing. I would have liked to have started carving this evening but there simply was not enough time.

Set - all ready to paint at the end of day 2!