What You See Isn't What You Get

I’d like to apologize for the lack of new posting recently, but I’m tired. You see, for the past few weeks I’ve been charged with designing a real life illusion and this week we started construction.

By building an illusion, I mean that I am in charge of construction of the set for the Agatha Christie play ”The Mousetrap” that our local theater company, The Island Players, is staging this winter. For those of you out there that like me are not long time regulars in the theater business, “The Mousetrap” is the longest continuously running play in history, having been staged in London’s west end theater district since 1952.

By the assertion that I am new to the theater business, I mean that I have acted in exactly two plays in the past 35 years, one in grade school in the late 1960’s and one this past spring when I played the character Hannibal in John Patrick’s play “The Curious Savage.” Let’s just say that I’m a character in real life, but my acting skills need a little work I believe. I’m still eager to learn.

Working with the theater is fun, but it can also be very hard, demanding work. The show must go on...as they say. The coolest part of working with The Island Players is that they occupy a 60 year old building that was originally constructed as a single screen movie house, and it sits about 50 yards from the Atlantic Ocean. Every time I drive up and park my car there I think about how lucky I am. I bet we have the only community theater on the entire east coast of the US with such a great venue.

My 25 years of design and construction experience do give me a certain advantage when it comes to theatrical sets. The only thing is, a set doesn’t have to withstand rain (well, sometimes they do), wind, and other environmental conditions and your average set only has a lifespan of a few months if not weeks.

The whole process really makes me crazy as it goes against everything I’ve ever practiced in building industrial smokestacks and houses for Habitat for Humanity. Just about the time you get everything framed with lumber, covered with foam or wood or whatever, painted, furnished, and decorated, then along comes the end of the play and it’s time to tear it all down again and start over. It’ really sorta sad, as you can really come to feel like a place depicted by the set actually exists and you’re comfortable sitting there in a chair looking at the bedroom door or whatever.

The current setting is a Manor House in post World War II England—14' high walls, giant fireplace, large arched entryways and a 12’ high palladian window. We will even have a snow machine outside the window. If things work the way I plan, it is all gonna look absolutely real and look 150 years old to boot.

I’ll post a picture in a few weeks when things start to come together. In the mean time I have a few rants rattling around my skull that I will try to get out in the next few days.