SCENERY PAINTING FOR THE AMATEUR MUSICAL THEATRE and PANTOMIME
Me and My Girl - Page two
Designer Liam Berry. Backcloths by Brian Willis.
Performed by the pupils of Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle (2004)
HAREFORD HALL (EXTERIOR) Chair for scale. About seven hours later (spread over two days) I am well underway with blocking in colours. Nothing is right, but at least I have got colour over most of it, which has broken the back of the task. and I now have something to start "painting". The sky was done with a sponge. And the lightening of the grass as it recedes was done by starting at the bottom then adding a little white each time as I, literally, ran back and forth keeping the brush at the same height. I ran because I needed to keep all the paint wet as I worked. I also had the stage lights off to keep the heat down to help retard the paint from drying. I am looking forward to tomorrow when the real arty work starts.
And here is, what I consider to be, the final cloth. You can always fiddle about more, but you have to say 'enough is enough' and move onto the next one. Play "Spot the difference" with the top photo There's a tree removed on the right for a start.
I had a little dilemma over the "drive" This cloth appears at the beginning of the show and in front of it will be practical "wrought iron" gates. So I have hinted at a drive. But the same cloth (sans gates) appears in Act II scene 1, when the cast are found playing croquet. So, referring back to the first scene, I could not have a straight drive leading up to the house, otherwise the guests in this later scene would appear to be playing croquet on the gravel drive!
<< Return to first page of "Me and my Girl"
On to next page of "Me and my Girl">>