So as I thought about the design for our production of "Evita", I knew I wanted to work in some up-lights. But I knew it could be expensive to buy "expanded steel" grid work flooring...like they use on fire escapes. So, as is usually the case with my set designs, an expedient solution fell in my lap! The local professional theatre house, "Triad Stage", was doing "The Glass Menagerie" with a plexiglass floor! Cool! That stuff would make a quick and easy way to cover my platforms so I could blast the actors from below with light.
Background: Regardless of the budget I have for a play, it is always my goal to make scenery out of "found objects" that are cheap and not generally considered theatrical stuff. This way of scrounging around for weird alternatives is one of the most fun and creative aspects of set design for me.
Anyhow, last night we raided the professional theatre during strike and made off with all the expensive 1/2 inch thick plexiglass panels! (They are renting them to us really cheap). My awesome parent volunteer, Kevin Pusch, brought his big trailer. He helped Alan Tutterow, and my Crew student Kenny, move the fragile flooring over to our theatre.
Below, I'm using a suction cup to lift the first 4' x 4' square of plexiglass flooring at Triad Stage:
This is at the halfway point of pulling up the flooring from "The Glass Menagerie". We took the honeycomb wooden supports too. Notice the tangle of power cables left behind from all their up-lights! (Click photos to enlarge).
Here is my crew helper, Kenny, as we loaded Mr. Pusch's giant trailer with flooring outside Triad Stage:
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