The Citizen, 2009-07-30, Page 13Continued from page 12
are a lot of props and set dressing, a
lot of little challenges.”
One of those is creating china
figurines to replicate Royal
Doultons. Head of props Lokki Ma
will create as many as 15 copies
“that we hope will look like Royal
Doultons from afar,” she said.
Ma, who switched her arts and
biology focus in university when she
fell in love with theatre whiletaking
an elective class on prop building. “I
had always been interested in art. I
like tactile things and working with
my hands. But with props you are
always learning something new.”
Ma laughs remembering her first
thought about the figurines after
reading the Nuttalls script. “I
thought, ‘This is going to be
expensive.’ We had to do a budget
adjustment. It’s challenging to cost a
show, because you never know
what’s going to come.”
Between the molding and casting,
Ma works on a number of other on-
going projects, though she admits
it’s a lot calmer now because her
shopping is done. “When I read the
script, I need to determine what to
buy, build or borrow.”
Also being ‘built’ are some fake
turkey legs and sausages. Ma’s
assistant Andrea Willette made the
sausages out of playdoh, then
covered them in latex, because they
are placed next to real food in the
play so have to be washed.
Creating a turkey leg begins with a
dowel, said Ma, then is built up.
“The actor actually has to mouth it.
He has a full one, one with a bite and
one finished on his plate so we are
building three.”
Also on the menu is fried eggs,
which will be dropped each
performance on the floor which is
currently being worked on by scenic
artist Victoria Harrop. Having to
make do with what’s in stock,
Harrop is using a technique that will
hopefully remove the white from the
linoleum and make it beige. This
will be sealed with a glaze coat to
protect it during the regular
washings. “The show changes in
reperatory, so you can’t just paint the
stage floor.”
An artist, Harrop came to theatre
after answering an ad for a propsperson in Guelph. “I thought itsounded interesting.”Now she has found her place inhelping to create the illusion, whichcan mean anything from scenic art to
painting walls. “Which
unbeknownst to the public can take
eight to a dozen coats.”
The reason is because of the bright
lights which will make things look
flat if they aren’t saturated. As well
there are shadings required to
achieve the right effect. “I’m often
painting right before the audience
comes in because you have to keep
adding until it looks right.”
In her second season here Harrop
is enjoying a slower pace this time.
“There haven’t been any hectic,
crazy days this time. Last year we
had two big shows right together and
that’s not the case this time which is
nice. Mostly I just try to keep up
with the carpenter.”
And keeping up with them all is
Gravel, who is rarely in any one
place too long. Like Ma, Gravel
came to theatre “totally by accident”
while in college in Montreal. The
vague description of a theatre course
sounded “fun” and because she had
no training was put in the carpentry
shop. “I ended up working on Jesus
Christ Superstar which is a huge set
and I learned so much. I truly
understood what it took and
watching it it was quite a feeling to
realize that I had done that. I had
built it.”
Enjoying her first year here,
Gravel is getting the same kind of
satisfaction. “This has been a crazy,
busy ride. An amazing ride.”
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2009. PAGE 13.
Recreating Royalty
Lokki Ma, head of props at Blyth Festival is creating molds
of figurines that it’s hoped will resemble Royal Doultons.
The props play a significant part in The Nuttalls. (Bonnie Gropp
photo)
The Stratford Shakespeare
Festival presents it annual summer
workshop concert series, featuring
Festival musicians and other artists
from Stratford and the surrounding
area. The concerts begin this
Saturday at 11 a.m. and continue
each week through Aug. 15. All four
concerts will presented St. Paul’s
Church, 9 Douro St., Stratford.
Admission is free and children are
welcome.
“Musicians always look forward
to these concerts because they get to
play repertoire that’s different from
what they are playing at the theatre,”
says Don Sweete, the concert series
organizer. “In the theatre business
musicians are always in the
background so it’s nice for them to
present something where the music
is in the foreground.”
Beautiful Brahms is Saturday,
Aug. 1, Dvorak and More! is
Saturday, Aug. 8 and Divertimento
is Saturday, Aug. 15.
‘A crazy, busy amazing ride’
Stratford Festival
presents annual
free concert series
Laying it on thick
Scenic artist Victoria Harrop paints and blends a chunk of
old linoleum to get the right shade for the floor to be used
on stage in The Nuttalls. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
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