AFD Theatre               22   Academy Street   Arlington  MA  02476           781.646.5922


Want to help with building the sets?         Set Building contact:   Don Richardson 


Before the build crew can get started building the set, it has to be designed.  This is the job of the set designer and the design process starts many months before the show gets into the theatre.  The production manager for each show finds someone who is willing to design the set.  The set designer reads the play and formulates a design that will accommodate all the scenes in the play and that will fit on our somewhat oddly-shaped stage.  The designer then prepares plans, drawings or models of their set design and presents them to the director and the other tech heads for the show.  At this stage, there is often some redesigning of the set to accommodate either the director's view of the show or the concerns of the tech heads.

 

Once the set design is finalized, the set tech is responsible for building it.  Finding someone to set tech the show is another job for the production manager.   Once building begins, the set tech is responsible for assigning tasks to the build crew in order that the set is ready for the actors as soon as possible.  The main structural elements (platforms, walls, doors, stairs, etc.) are completed as quickly as possible allowing the actors plenty of time to become accustomed to the space during rehearsals.  Ideally, this would occur in the first week, but with very large sets this is not always possible.

 

Once the structural elements are in place, we do the detail work.  For indoor sets this means skirting boards, chair rails, door trim and window trim and painting.  We have to coordinate with props if there are to be pictures hung on the walls, to ensure that there is structure behind the flat.
Some sets call for sconces, so we then have to ensure that the lights can be powered.

 

Set builds at AFD take place from 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. on Tuesday and Wednesday nights and from 9 A.M. to noon on Saturday mornings.  We have a complete workshop and all the sets are built right on our own stage. Building starts on the Tuesday immediately following the final performance of the previous show and continues until the set is complete.  You do not have to commit to coming to every build, but we are always glad to see new faces.

 

EXAMPLES OF AFD SETS

Moonlight and Magnolias (December 2009)


This is an example of a simple box set.  No part of the set has to move.  It consists of a single room, with a 9" platform on the upstage end.

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (December 2007)

Another simple static set.  The marble effect on the stone pillars was achieved with paint.

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To Kill a Mockingbird (October 2007)

We had to build five building fronts for this show.  Boo Radley's house was faced with real distressed lumber.  In addition, Miss Stephanie's house was built on castors, so that it could be rotated to show the judge's box for the courtroom scenes.

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Enchanted April (June 2005)

Although no part of this set moved, it was still a challenging build. There were a number of curves on this one (the stone terrace wall and the tower).  The stone look of the terrace wall was achieved using paint effects.  The front of the villa was covered in brick-effect mansonite (left over from West Side Story) which was then covered in plaster to mimic the look of an Italian villa.  In places, the plaster was left off to show the brick underneath

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Titanic: The Musical (April 2004)

This was a monster build.  The ship had to sink.  A massive framework of support beams was laid underneath the ship's deck.  This framework was hinged on the front of the stage and pulleys were rigged at the upstage end to tilt the deck as the ship sank at the end of the show.  Further upstage was the superstructure of the liner (this did not tilt).  One challenge here was to have sufficient support for the actors on the upper deck, while ensuring that there was sufficient space underneath to house the orchestra.



Set Building Contact:      Don Richardson 

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