SCENERY PAINTING FOR THE AMATEUR MUSICAL THEATRE and PANTOMIME

UNDERSEA
Designed, Built and painted by Brian Willis.
Performed by Hullabaloo Children's Interactive Theatre, Ballyearl Theatre. 2010

THE LITTLE MERMAID

Hullabaloo perform mostly in schools and libraries etc. But occasionally they get asked to put on a show in a theatre. This is when I am brought in to design and paint flats to help elaborate this larger performance space.

Whilst the show is in progress, children from the audience are brought onto the stage and, dressed in appropriate costumes. They then help to act out the fairytale being told. However as cast and children act out events in the story there is a puppet show going on at the same time depicting those same events.
So for this particular performance I devised two "sentinel" seahorses (Bookflats) to stand either side of the puppet stage.

The photos below are not all to the same scale. The Anchor and Wreck are taller than the two seahorse bookflats.

One part of this show involves a UV sequence so I have outlined parts of all these flats with "Invisible Blue UV Paint"

SEAHORSE AUDIENCE LEFT
Sizes - Both flats about 4 ft wide and seven feet high

For this photo I have not joined these two flats together but instead opened up the bookflat so you can see both flats side by side.

 

UV PAINT
I outlined the seahorse only. I did not outline anything on the side wall i.e. the ruined pillars, as this will be hardly seen and those that do see it will be viewing it at such an oblique angle that the UV paint will be very confusing.

 

SEAHORSE AUDIENCE RIGHT
Sizes - Both flats about 4 ft wide and seven feet high

I have not joined these two flats together but instead opened up the bookflat so you can see both flats side by side.

Note the shadows which help to give depth (Pun intended) to these paintings.

Important elements in all these flats I have outlined in black to give an "illustrated storybook" feel to the scene.

ANCHOR
Size About four feet wide and nine feet tall


This flat goes Audience Left on the stage. i.e. left as seen from the audience's point of view.

There is a hinged bracket at the back so it is self supporting.

This is a tall flat and the octopus section is bolted on once arrived at the theatre.

UV PAINT
I painted just the Anchor and Octopus with UV paint

I used acrylic texture paste on the anchor to give it a little texture which hopefully will be brought out under the top lights in the theatre.

 

WRECK
Size About four feet wide and 11 feet tall

Flat goes Audience Right.
There is a hinged bracket at the back so it is self supporting.

This is a tall flat and the mast-lamp section is bolted on once arrived at the theatre.

UV PAINT
I outlined just the wreck

 

I have painted the "shoal of sardines" with an overlay of silver which looks very effective under dimmed lights.

 

CLAM GROUND ROW.
Size About eight feet wide and four feet high


There are two hinged supports at the back.

UV PAINT
I outlined the clam and the chest with UV paint.

<< Return to list of Stage Sets
Next "Undersea" page>>