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Andy and Molly are currently building the set for a new play called Tragedy of the Commons.
When it’s time to build a set, Andy gets some basic blue prints and maybe a model of the set. He then has to figure out how to build it. That sounds obvious but Andy usually has to dance with the devil to get a set built well.
Andy: “There’s two kinds of sets, moving and nonmoving. Nonmoving is straight forward-make a fake house and you’re done but you’ve got pay attention and use fine craftsmanship. With a moving set the audience will notice if something fails so I tend to build things a little beefier than I need to so I don’t have to go repair it.”
Andy and Molly don’t like to repair sets.
Andy: “Whenever you repair something, it doesn’t come out as good as it originally was. On top of that, the failure point becomes shorter and shorter. If you’re at the beginning of a six week run on a show and something breaks on the tenth day, you’ll probably have to repair it five days later, then again three days later and then you’re repairing it every day. It’s a nightmare. If you build something right the first time, you won’t have to repair it seven times and have it be inadequate for the actors.”
If a moving set it noisy when it moves, it can be a distraction to the audience. No one wants to hear a set squeak and groan itself into place.
Andy: “It becomes a budget decision but if you can’t afford high quality casters and wheels, you can always ask for a sound cue. You tell them to play some underscoring [music] while my squeaky platform wheels in-you know, cover it up.”
Almost every decision Andy makes is a cost/benefit analysis.
In one show, they needed twelve French doors. If Andy had purchased the doors, they would have been nicer than he needed and heavier than he wanted so he decided to have Molly build them.
Andy: “With labor costs and materials, we came in at a third of the cost of buying them.”
Molly’s did a great job on the doors and had a lot to say about the process.
Molly” “Don’t print any of what I just said!”
Andy and Molly are currently building the set for a new play called Tragedy of the Commons.
When it’s time to build a set, Andy gets some basic blue prints and maybe a model of the set. He then has to figure out how to build it. That sounds obvious but Andy usually has to dance with the devil to get a set built well.
Andy: “There’s two kinds of sets, moving and nonmoving. Nonmoving is straight forward-make a fake house and you’re done but you’ve got pay attention and use fine craftsmanship. With a moving set the audience will notice if something fails so I tend to build things a little beefier than I need to so I don’t have to go repair it.”
Andy and Molly don’t like to repair sets.
Andy: “Whenever you repair something, it doesn’t come out as good as it originally was. On top of that, the failure point becomes shorter and shorter. If you’re at the beginning of a six week run on a show and something breaks on the tenth day, you’ll probably have to repair it five days later, then again three days later and then you’re repairing it every day. It’s a nightmare. If you build something right the first time, you won’t have to repair it seven times and have it be inadequate for the actors.”
If a moving set it noisy when it moves, it can be a distraction to the audience. No one wants to hear a set squeak and groan itself into place.
Andy: “It becomes a budget decision but if you can’t afford high quality casters and wheels, you can always ask for a sound cue. You tell them to play some underscoring [music] while my squeaky platform wheels in-you know, cover it up.”
Almost every decision Andy makes is a cost/benefit analysis.
In one show, they needed twelve French doors. If Andy had purchased the doors, they would have been nicer than he needed and heavier than he wanted so he decided to have Molly build them.
Andy: “With labor costs and materials, we came in at a third of the cost of buying them.”
Molly’s did a great job on the doors and had a lot to say about the process.
Molly” “Don’t print any of what I just said!”