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Answer Box
By John Landon
Moving the Marfa Lights
Marfa Lights necessitate the moving of worlds
The set for Marfa Lights fully assembled
COURTESY OF BRANDON D. MITCHELL
The world premier production of Marfa Lights, by
Octavio Solis, opened our brand new $32 million
Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex on the West
Texas A&M University campus in the Happy State Bank
Studio Theatre. The director, Royal R. Brantley, desired a
set for the production that reflected the wide-open, rugged
environment of the West Texas landscape near Marfa,
Texas. The plot revolves around college students and their
fraternity activities. They experience real and strange activity
during their overnight adventures. The light design by
Brandon Mitchell led us in and out of reality with natural
and supernatural lighting. The scenic design by James
Kemmerling achieved the director’s vision with eight large
overlapping platforms resembling the flat, arid land of that
area, as well as two large vertical shapes to break the space
depicting the geological elements of West Texas.
As the technical director for the production, I had to
construct the scenic elements in such a way as to disassemble
and transport easily. As a participating production in
the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, the
whole production had to quickly and simply be taken apart,
loaded into a truck and reassembled in another theatre.
Each level of the platformed set was constructed as a
single unit: legs attached for height and one flat straight
edge on which the unit stood while being transported in
the truck. Platforms too large to fit in the truck were constructed
out of two sections that coffin locked together
during load-in.
The challenge of building and transporting the two large
geological elements was met by constructing them each in
two parts. The lower sections were large polystyrene foam
blocks sandwiched between a plywood top and bottom
for strength and support while traveling. We had to find
an adhesive that would bond the foam without bulk and
without destroying the foam. We experimented with several
products and found a water-based 3M Fastbond product
that is made for attaching foam insulation. We then carved
the foam with saws and Sureform tools.
The top sections were layers of polystyrene foam on a
plywood base. The foam reduced the weight of the units
and allowed us to carve the geological shapes as designed.
After carving the foam, we had to protect the foam from
rough handling during travel. We mixed drywall mud and
white glue together and brushed it on the foam. This surface
allowed us to apply the latex scenic paint.
The lightweight geological scenic units and the easily
moveable platforms allowed for a quick and efficient load-in
at ACTF.
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48 April 2007 • www.stage-directions.com