black magic

Well, all is said and done as far as paint goes. The set for Falstaff at the National arts Centre in Ottawa is up, on stage and tech week is in full swing. I was in for the paint call, where touch ups and adjustments top the set are made, a last chance saloon type of a day. they are usually gruelling days, reliant upon process and readiness for just about anything. The floor on this set, all black, did not go down well, streaks plagued the final finish. The vagaries of glazing can lead to this kind of trouble. I have been lucky that I have not run into it too dramatically (as it were)before. So we did our best to rectify it and can only know when the set lights go back on today. Hope is the best tool in theatre, maybe praying to the great god of theatre would not hurt.
It opens on Thursday.
Now, back to preparations for the exhibition in Coldwater, framing, advertising, invitations, and so on...tally ho!

stained glass challenge

Set painting, always a challenge. I paint the sets at the NAC and a new designer always means a new challenge. The challenge this time, for the production of Falstaff is to create back lit stained glass window, without using stained glass of course, this is theatre after all and nothing is as it seems. So plexiglass becomes stained glass with the use of waxed paper and glaze to create a clouded cast glass look. It is meant to be renaissance period glass and so no Fancy stuff. Some colours will appear via the use of coloured tissue. Foam insulation, the king you would use to place around your door frame will work as leading. All this and a bit of scenic paint and some lights and voila, we will have it.
Now that the technique is agreed upon between the designer and I, off we go.
It goes on stage on Thursday, we have some work to do...