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Special Section: Community Theatre
Steve Dupry used wheels on his set for Sweeney Todd in order to
clear a large set.
paint; textured burlap was used to
clothe the trolls, and ‘ogre hands’,
bought at a Halloween store sell-off,
were employed. The spider was built
out of PVC, styro balls, fabric and fake
fur, all purchased on discount. The
dragon head was built from muslincovered
flex foam which was painted
with sparkly gold glue paint to suggest
armored scales.”
The theatre was also able to secure
a local grant to buy a small fogger, to
use in conjunction with the dragon
costume, as well as a hazer to use
throughout various scenes, for just
$1,500. It’s a great idea to reach out
to your community—audiences, local
arts organizations, state agencies—
for similar funding help.
“If a project is exciting enough,
you’ll be surprised where financial
support can come from,” Willard says.
“It doesn't happen all the time, and
theatres working very close to their
budget lines might not think they
would be able to support shows like
this. Still, quite a bit can be achieved
with very little.”
Bottom line?
“Let the imagination of your audience
and sponsors do the work, and
you're halfway there!”
18 April 2009 • www.stage-directions.com