SCENERY PAINTING FOR THE AMATEUR MUSICAL THEATRE and PANTOMIME
(Community Theatre)

A Source list of drawings and photos.

Brian painting

On the right, backcloth for...
The Castle Kitchen
for
"Snow White " 2013

Bottom left 2.5 ltr. paint tin for scale

I have been painting scenery for amateur / community (and some professional) productions for many many years, and nowadays when presented with the script of a new show, I invariably go the Internet for ideas. However, sometimes these ideas are few and far between, so I have set up this site with the intention of augmenting that information. If you are designing and or painting for a show, hopefully you might find something useful here, not necessarily a whole scene but maybe an element in that scene, a pillar or a tree perhaps. Anyway, it's always fun to see how others have tackled the problems.
Enjoy,
Brian Willis.
Last updated: October 17, 2014

As I add photos of various Shows to this web site, so I have included details about how I went about painting that particular set, how I attempted to show various textures, - bricks, foliage, planks, sky etc.
Put in a SINGLE WORD in this search box to see if I have covered your particular problem.
Ignore common words and characters such as where, the, how, a, and, etc
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NOTE when you reach a page, use the EDIT/FIND (ON THIS PAGE) tool in your top menu
This list is only a fraction of the productions I have worked on over the years. I am in my late seventies now and started painting scenery for amateur shows as a hobby when I was about thirteen years old. I belonged to a very go-ahead youth club (Wimborne Youth Group ) that, for the first few years of its existence specialised in putting on shows, pantomimes and concert tours. That was where I first got involved in making and painting scenery.
I have designed and painted sets and backcloths for many Amateur (and some Professional) Companies including :-.
Lisnagarvey Operatic (13 years) Portrush Music Society (11 years) Coleraine Provincial Players (15 years); Ballycastle Choral Society (10 years); Newcastle Glee Singers; Ulster Operatic Company Belfast; Lyric Light Opera Company Belfast; Cross and Passion College Ballycastle; Bushmills PTA; Leaney PTA; Ballymoney Primary School; Macosquin Primary School; Ballywillan Drama Group; Newbridge Musical Society, Co. Kildare; Merlins' Childrens' Theatre, Grimsby; Dominic Graham School of Dancing Coleraine; Garvagh High School; Hullabaloo Children's Theatre; The Mill Summer Youth Group (Newtownabbey); Coleraine Council and Room2Room Designs Ohio USA.
Castles
Caves
Dungeons
Forests, woods and trees
Ruins.
Villages
Winter and snow

NOT LOOKING FOR A SHOW, BUT A SCENE?

<< Try these. (or use the search box above).

Gold Mine Visit

How I paint trees

I DID IT MY WAY
As well as depicting many shows, I also include on this site some aspects of how I go about the art and craft of painting scenery for the stage.


<< Find them here
.

Some Questions and Answers

The Gestation of Pantomime sets (Treasure Island)

Please feel free to email me Brian Willis if you have any thoughts about how this site should evolve or have any particular questions which I might be able to answer, or - better still- have any tips to pass on to others in the amateur scenery painting world. By the way if you find a link that doesn't work please let me know. Thanks.
To find more details about me CLICK here..

NONE OF THESE CLOTHS ARE FOR SALE OR HIRE. Most have been painted over, or in the case of the old ones, put in the skip (dumpster).

I, and all the other contributing artists, relinquish all copyright of the artwork depicted on this Set-Painting site. So feel free to pinch anything you like!
If you would like to see more of my work - pen and ink sketches, folk art, sculpture etc. then please visit my site :-
Causeway Art Studios
(Opens in separate window
)

WEB SITE DESIGNED BY CAUSEWAY ART STUDIOS (Brian Willis)

SHOWS ON THIS SITE

Aladdin (7 versions)

Ali Baba (2 versions)
Alice in Wonderland
Annie.
Annie Get Your Gun
Anything Goes
Babes in the Wood
a Ballroom
Boyfriend (the)
Brigadoon
Calamity Jane
(2 versions).
Carousel (one drawing)
Causeway Stones NEW
Christmas Carol (A)
Christmas Grottoes  
Christmas Village
Cinderella (6 Versions)
Dick Whittington
(5 versions)
(an) Easter Play
A Fairy Story
Fiddler on the Roof (Two versions)
Gondoliers (the)
Jack and the Beanstalk (4 versions)
Jekyll & Hyde
King and I (Including the gestation of a backcloth)
Kiss Me Kate
Lilac Time
Snow scenes
Maid of the Mountains
Merry Widow
(2 versions)
Me and my Girl
My Fair Lady
My Three Angels
Nativity (3 versions)

Novelty cut-out

Oklahoma!
(5 versions)
Oliver (Four versions)
Pantomime.
What's in a Panto
?
Peter Pan
Pirates of Penzance and Pirates NEW
Pirates Murals
Red Riding Hood
Robin Hood
Robinson Crusoe
Santa's Workshop  
Showboat
Singing in the Rain
Sleeping Beauty NEW
Snow White (5 versions)
Sound of Music
2 versions
South Pacific
Student Prince
Sweet Charity
Tardis NEW
Treasure Island
Titanic
Toad of Toad Hall
Undersea
White Horse Inn
Wind in Willows
Wizard of Oz
(4 versions) NEW

The early history of the Ulster Hospital Radio. Not connected with this scenery painting web site but riding piggy back on it!