AVPM Technical Design

The Franklin W Olin Players produced A Very Potter Musical in the fall of 2017, our first musical in many years. Many things about our decision to do the show were a gamble - would we have enough actors, techs, and musicians interested? Would the amateur student directorial team get the show up and running in time? And my particular issue as technical director - would we be able to successfully convert an area of our theater-less campus into a performing arts space?

There was only one space on campus large enough to seat the audience we hoped to draw for the musical: Olin's singular lecture hall/auditorium. FWOP had eschewed the hall in earlier years becuase the stage area wasn't large enough for much moving around or dance numbers. To compensate, for this show we designed a scheme where raised platforms would be built over the first two rows of seats, extending our reach considerably. This plan needed to be approved by campus facilities, so I mocked up the design in Solidworks and submitted a packet of drawing plans in advance of our build. Unfortunately, the raised platform wasn't approved in the end, and we had to contend with a shorter stage on ground level.

The space also presented several other unique challenges. Because of our decreased stage depth, we had to prioritize a skinny backdrop, and we couldn't be intrusive in our modifications to the space. To easily build a skinny, light, self-supporting backdrop, we chose foam, a somewhat unconvential material.

Early in the build process, we experimented with the material, and learned how to texture it with heat. We used these techniques on the backdrop and also on a "stone" arch that we moved for different scenes to create different spaces.

We also prioritized reusability for our set pieces. We designed and built 6 sturdy, all-purpose benches.

For the rest of the props, we leaned into the haphazard, improvised aesthetic of the musical and made them out of 3-ply cardboard. We printed the outlines on a poster printer, attached them to the cardboard with spray adhesive, cut them each out with a scroll saw and handpainted each one. These props included everything from a giant sandwich to a Hungarian Horntail dragon operated by 5 techs.

In the end, I'm proud of how our team both incorporated and overcame the quirks of our space to make the largest musical Olin has ever seen.