From mid-June to early July, 2006, I designed and built a set for
Cresson Lake Playhouse's production of Leader of the Pack:
The Ellie Greenich Musical.
The show is a musical revue showcasing many of the
1960's hit songs penned by Ellie Greenich, and telling the story of
both her private and professional lives.
The directors wanted a 60's sort of "variety show" look to the set,
so I opted for what I've called the "Laugh-In" (Some of you might be old enough
to remember what that was.) color scheme, even though,
if you look back at old TV and print, you'll see the colors just about
everywhere. As a bonus, the color scheme matches the seat colors at the
Playhouse. I like it when things work out that way. I wanted to build something
a little different for Cresson Lake -- something with some various heights, so
that the actors and the choreographer could really have some fun
with the dance numbers. I also wanted to illustrate Ellie's
many "hit records," and settled upon round platforms painted to
appear as 45's. (Some of you might be old enough to remember
what those were.) There's a good bit of running and jumping
during the dance numbers, so the stage had to be sturdy, as well.
Several hours of computer- and paper-based design followed, until the
design was finalized and I had enough information up-front to
know the amount of materials involved, and how the stage would be
engineered. About 22' x 11', using 10 sheets of 3/4" plywood, just
under 200' of 2"x4" lumber for framing, and nearly 10lbs of 2 1/2" screws.
I spent about a week-and-a-half's worth of evenings cutting and building
the platforms, two days of assembly at the Playhouse, and more painting
than you can possibly imagine.
The entire set came together nicely - there were changes made here and there,
but overall the set keeps to the my initial vision for the set very well. It was
an absolute joy to see the initial tech rehearsal with the lights and
costumes and band for the first time. Absolutely incredible!
Set Rendering in Google SketchUp.
Another Set Rendering in Google SketchUp.
Upstage Wall Detail, Photoshop.
Start, Day 2 of build.
Start, Day 2 Pan. Shot.
End, Day 2 of Build.
End, Day 2 Pan. Shot.
End Day 3 build.
End Day 3 Pan. Shot.
End Day 4. Pan Shot 1.
Cast's first rehearsal on stage. Stage still standing. Always a plus!
Detail nearly finished. Yellow detail needs redone in
darker color rather than the primary.
End Day 4. Pan Shot 2.
End Day 5. Overhead shot.
Yellow Fixed, Poly-Coated. Oooooo, shiny.
End Day 6. Most legs masked.
(Photos forthcoming)
End Day 7. Legs masked, chairs covered.
End day 8. Band Rise Painted, walls nearly all painted.
(Running low on paint, so design was changed
to something more simple.)
Day 8. Low angle shot.
End Day 9. Front View. Curtains hung. Rope lights nearly finished. Painting
done except for touch-up. Nearly complete!
Rear View.
Side View
Day 10. Rope lights! (I originally bought these to use on my
back porch, but I thought'd they'd look good, and they do.
They're still going up on my back porch when the show's over.)
...and columns!!! Yay!
Done!
(Well. Mostly. Still have a table to paint.)
Scenes from the first tech rehearsal. I'm absolutely thrilled
to see everything come together on the set for the
first time. This is why I do it.
Thanks to everyone involved at Cresson Lake Playhouse
for letting me build such a great set, and putting it to good use
in such a wonderful show.
July 2, 2006.
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