Next Act 2016: The Little Mermaid

I was one of the co-art directors for the 2016 Next Act production of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Next Act is a student run musical production that is based in my college dorm, Next House. We emphasize introducing newcomers to theatre - anyone who auditions gets a role, and we encourage anyone to try being on a tech crew. As one of the art directors, I designed multiple set backdrops and environments for all of the story's settings. In addition, I also extensively worked in designing and fabricating the set pieces/props.

Designed set backdrops and led an art crew to paint them. Working with the limitations of putting on a theatrical production in a dorm common area (with minimal backstage area and a small stage), I designed flexible sets - so that one pieces could be interpreted as many locations based on props or lighting.

Helped create a large "under the sea" roll drop. The stage manager and I worked together to create a hanging roll drop. We bought dropcloths (and sewed them together to make a large canvas), painted the entire cloth to look like an ocean backdrop, and attached the hardware needed to mount and roll it up/down. The video below shows the roll drop rising and lowering. With the drop, we could quickly change from scenes under the sea to over the sea. The video below reveals the set for a ship deck - complete with a captain's wheel that we made!

Paper mached a big rock for Ariel's Grotto. I created a 2"x4" frame and molded the shape of a rock using chicken wire over it. I then led a small crew to cover the entire surface using paper mache, and paint it once dry to look like a rock. Used for Ariel's Grotto scenes, the actress playing Ariel could sit and stand on the rock without damaging it, due to the wooden frame underneath. The surface is decorated with pennies (I've got twenty!) and candlesticks (what's a fire, and why does it burn?)