Set Models

Another cool video from the Sydney Opera House series, this time on building set models:

 And here are a few random models of mine, just for fun - a comparison of the models and the set builds for Irma Vep at WaterTower Theater:

The scenic painting on this next set is Not done - the Sphinx did not end up winking!

Did Someone Mention Life/Work Balance?

Ha!

As if.

It's been a crazy,  crazy few months.  Five months.

Several shows, several holidays, and one family health crisis later (pro tip: don't let 89-year-olds fall over, just don't.) I'm finally able to dump some pictures here!  (I'll try to talk more about each next time, when I have more time.)

Harvey at WaterTower Theater:

Harvey, WaterTower Theater - photos by Jason Anderson

Alabaster at Kitchen Dog Theater:    On stage through March 8th!

Alabaster at Kitchen Dog Theater.  The house's bedroom with all our "folk art"

Close-up of art...

An in-progress photo of "weeding" the goat hill side of the set. 

This show is kinda a big deal - this year's Hot Play and our entry into its rolling world premier.  A Theater Jones review is HERE , a Column review HERE, and really nice article in the Dallas News with good pictures HERE.  I really enjoyed being part of this effort, working with this talented team,  and getting to meet the playwright!

The Royal Dilemma by Think India and Mainstage Irving-Los Colinas:  I'm attaching a blurry picture of the cave scene from The Royal Dilemma from last fall (the blurry may hide the not-quiiiiite-done aspects.  This was an insanely ambitious show and a ton of fun!  I never got good pictures.)

Think India Foundation's The Royal Dilemma

I will attempt to be more regular in my posts from here on out.

If no one else breaks an arm...?

Catch Up Photos

Soooo that "I'm going to Blog!" resolution went about well as expected.  It's been very busy this spring is all I can say - six shows in the last six months, one of them Off-Broadway - so there's that.

Here are a few catch-up photos at least:

The Ballad of Little Joe at WaterTower Theater - 

set design Clare Floyd DeVries, photo by Jason Anderson 

A super dramatic look at the climax of The Ballad of Little Jo  at WaterTower Theater in Addison.  Here's another view, showing the "geological" levels: 

The Ballad of Little Joe at WaterTower Theater - 

set design Clare Floyd DeVries, photo by Jason Anderson 

Speaking of geology... try cramming the Grand Canyon into a basement space!  I found a good photo of my Men on Boats at Circle Theater:

Men on Boats at Circle Theater, set design Clare Floyd DeVries, photo Chris Herrero

And here's a random memory, the first good photo I've found of the top-of-show setting for Blasted at Undermain Theatre:

Blasted at Undermain Theatre - set design Clare Floyd DeVries,

 if you know the photographer I'd love to credit them properly

Scenically this show was a clever trick... because in a couple minutes this nice hotel room becomes a bombed-out hellscape.  (The secret is that wainscot and fiber "wallpaper" above, which disguises a collapsing wall.  Shutters of the "bomb damage" swing in to change everything - very very fast!)

I'll toss in a few sketches for three shows at Kitchen Dog Theater this spring from which I don't yet have good photos:

You Got Older, Kitchen Dog Theater - set design Clare Floyd DeVries

Wolf at the Door, Kitchen Dog Theater - set design Clare Floyd DeVries 

Reykjavik, Kitchen Dog Theater - set design Clare Floyd DeVries

Reykjavik and The Ballad of Little Jo are still running!  So go by tickets if you can.

As soon as I have both the time and the energy I'll tell you about my adventure in NYC, which was exhausting and pretty cool...

How'd That Turn Out?

Thought you might like a few pics of the completed Native Gardens set:

Native Gardens at WaterTower Theater - photo Gary DeVries

Native Gardens at WaterTower Theater - photo Gary DeVries

Native Gardens at WaterTower Theater - photo Gary DeVries

That's real dirt people, and (mostly) real plants.  A heroic job by the set-build crew!

Get Yer Tickets!

I've got four (count 'em 4!) shows worth seeing right now or very soon:

At Kitchen Dog Theater, Gidion's Knot, which has been getting really good reviews, running just through the 26th.  (Get tickets fast.)  This script raises some fascinating questions.

At Fun House Theatre and Film, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, opening tonight!  With only a short run also through the 26th.  It's going to be terrific, I think.  The kids (who are 99% of the cast) are amazing!  An Escher-ish set that I'm proud of.  (Still digging gray paint out from under my fingernails.)

Escher arches - believed public domain image

Opening soon at WaterTower Theater, the Dallas restaging of Circle Theatre's steamy-good Venus in Fur.  Opens the 27th and runs through May 18th.

And opening May 1st at Circle Theatre, The Other Place, which runs through the 24th.  An intriguing how-much-is-in-her-head? kind of piece.

Tickets! Tickets!  Get yer Tickets!

Book Sale! and Status Update

My printer Lulu.com is having a site-wide sale... Your chance to stock up on my theater set design how-to book Alice Through the Proscenium!  (And a lot of other good books too.)

Got to Lulu.com's main page HERE for the deal and HERE to see more about Alice.

Status?  The Mystery of Irma Vep opened successfully last night - always a relief.  From the set designer's point of view, the last minute addition of a leopard skin rug (beautifully painted on) worked just fine.   Lighting was lovely.  The set looked almost like the model and nothing fell off on an actor or anything, so I was happy.  This was a fiddly carpentry and painterly set and the carpenters and painters worked like fiends to get it finished - thank you!

The only upset was the sudden illness of one of WaterTower Theater's board members.  He was doing better almost immediately and was taken for further care - all good wishes to Buddy today.  After about a fifteen minute break, the actors jumped back into the show very smoothly, very professionally... which is tough to do, actually, since they build up a head of steam in performance and need that momentum.

Funny show!

Today - a meeting with the builder on The Beauty Queen of Leenane.  My own personal theater train just keeps on steaming along...

Giving Day

Today is North Texas Giving Day - your best  chance to support the performing arts in DFW, while streeeetching your dollar.

All gifts of $25 or more given TODAY will be "matched" by extra funds!  (Just like mine were.)

For the price of two movie tickets, we theater folk would be very very grateful.  

And your support will go a long way!  At Kitchen Dog...

$25 pays for copies of the script for the cast, designers, and crew

$50 buys two lightbulbs for stage lights (see why theater's expensive?)

$150 pays for one costume for one actor

$1000 pays all expenses for one staged reading of a new play

$5000 buys building supplies for all shows in a season (we pinch pennies!).

Just click on the theater name to reach the Giving Day page, where Spending Your Cash For a Good Cause is made very simple and pleasant, even down-right enjoyable.  It's that glow of nobility, that's what it is.

KITCHEN DOG THEATER  

And here are some other theaters doing good work, that I also work with:

WATERTOWER THEATER  

CIRCLE THEATRE  

UPTOWN PLAYERS

Thank you.  There IS no theater without you.