Set Design and Construction - The Wedding Party

In June, I was asked to work on a new play called "The Wedding Party" as part of the 10 Days in Dublin festival 2013. I was taken on as the set designer and builder. I talked with the director and found out what he had envisioned for the play and began designs.

The set required one door and a balcony set. Both pieces were going to be interacted with a lot during the play. I decided to build the set out of ply wood sheets and timbre supports.

   For the construction I got the help of Paddy Hoyne ( http://paddyhoyne.portfoliobox.me/ ). A very talented model maker and carpenter.

      After all the supports were made and working. We cut out the frames of the doors.

 

Next we started making the balcony. The balcony need to support the weight of a person leaning on it and that can attached to the door frame so it wouldn't come apart mid scene in the play.

After the balcony was made, we started work on the rest of the balcony set; the doors and adjoining brick work piece. In my designs I thought this slanted section of brick would make a nice transition between the inside and outside of the room when characters went out to the balcony.

Next we hung the doors and added some skirting to frame the door to make it look a bit nicer!

After we finished construction, the director asked if we could throw together a table for the set so Paddy took this on. We also added a lock to the balcony doors to make sure they wouldn't swing open mid performance.

And then the painting began. We were limited on paint and colors so it took a lot of improvisation!

For the brick work, I used different shades of paint put on with a sponge to add high and low lights. It gave them a more 3D look.

Then it was set up time in the venue; The Boy's School at Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin.

Whole cast and crew photo!

Here is a video of the first 5 minutes of the play. Giddy was not the word to describe how I was when I first saw it!

The show ran for 2 days and construction and painting took a total of 5 days to complete. It was a great experience, great fun, and great experience of what it's like in a theatre working environment! A huge thanks to Paddy Hoyne for his help. Great guy to work with, very focused and talented! Would definitely recommend him!

Contacts for Paddy Hoyne:http://paddyhoyne.portfoliobox.me/

http://paddyhoynedesigns.blogspot.ie/
https://twitter.com/PaddyHoyne