HomeMy WebLinkAboutSetting The Stage, 1998-06-24, Page 44Jeff Churchill: set , prop and costume designer.
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PAGE 20. SETTING THE STAGE, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1998.
Jeff Churchill transforms old objects into new
By Allison Lawlor
Walking through the shop
where they make the sets,
props and costumes for
the Blyth Festival is a magical
experience.
An old, rusted stove is trans-
formed into a beautiful, antique
By Allison Lawlor
Allan Stichbury practices
what he teaches. In addition
to designing for the theatre
Allan teaches.
Close to 10 years ago he took a
job teaching set design at the Uni-
versity of Victoria in Victoria, B.C.
He likes being able to both teach
and continue his work in theatre.
"I love the excitement of the stu-
dents. When you have been doing
something for 25-30 years every-
thing seems old. But to them old is
new and that makes it exciting."
Allan worked on his first show at
the Blyth Festival in 1985. His last
season at Blyth was in 1987, when
he did the set and costumes for
Another Season's Promise by Anne
Chislett and Keith Roulston.
This season he will be designing
the set and lighting for Wilbur
County Blues by Andrew Moodie.
Allan stresses to his students that
the principle of set design is figur-
ing out the relation between the
audience and the actor.
"First, you design the space the
play is going to be in," he said.
"You have to decide how closed,
open or enclosed you want the
space to be. Then you decide
whether you want the audience to
see the stage like a picture frame or
whether you want the audience to
interact with the actors."
In Wilbur County Blues Allan
wants the audience to feel a part of
the play. The play should be warm,
welcoming and familiar to people
from the area.
"The play is set in a place like
Blyth. So the audience has to rec-
ognize things. It has to feel like it
is in the next town."
To make the play feel like it is
set in Huron County, Allan is using
familiar colours and textures of the
county, like yellow brick. Instead
of using real brick they use pressed
masonite and paint it yellow.
Allan prefers designing sets to
costumes. Costume designers work
hard and are grossly underpaid he
said.
This year Allan took a leave of
absence from school and travelled
across the country working for
Manitoba Theatre, Citadel Theatre,
the National Ballet Theatre and
period piece. A caved in hardwood
icebox is rebuilt and refinished. All
this makes you feel as if you were
walking through another era.
"Some of the things we are using
have been lying around in people's
basements for years," said Jeff
Churchill, the head of props this
Allan Stichbury: set designer
others.
"I prefer doing new plays. It's
always exciting doing something
no one has done before."
Allan saw his first play at the
University of Alberta. His friends
in the theatre department convinced
him to drop his economics class
and take a theatre class instead.
"I wasn't interested in acting, but
I had a feeling for design." He went
on to complete a degree in design.
Allan knew he wanted to work
designing for the theatre instead of
interior design or clothing design.
"I like the temporariness of it.
What I design is there for a week, a
month, a year and then it's gone."
Aside from the immediacy of the
theatre Allan said he loves working
with the people involved in theatre.
season at the Blyth Festival.
Right now Jeff is frantically try-
ing to put together the set for
Yesteryear by Joanna McClelland
Glass. The play takes place in a
hardware store 50 years ago, so
everything in the store has to look
like it was from that era.
"It's a huge prop show," said
Jeff. "About 90 per cent of the
props are set dressing, the rest are
hand props. Usually it's split
50/50.",
By set dressing, Jeff is referring
to the objects that are a part of the
set on stage. Hand props are the
articles the actors hold, like a bot-
tle, cup or purse.
Jeff said he doesn't know how he
would have put the set together for
Yesteryear without the help of Phil
Gemeinhardt, the owner of Bay-
field North Antiques. Phil lent the
theatre antiques from his shop and
gives Jeff advice.
"Phil has been invaluable. He
grew up in the '40s in a rural area,
so he knows what hardware stores
were like. He knows how nails
would have been sold. They
weren't sold in cardboard boxes
like they are today, they were sold
in barrels."
Jeff is happy to work on the set
of Yesteryear because he is fasci-
nated by the '40s. He said the sets
for Wilbur County Blues and Jobs!
Jobs! Jobs! will be relatively easy
becauSe they are contemporary
plays.
Jeff has worked behind the
scenes at Blyth for the past three
seasons. He spent one summer
Ari Cohen won't
give up the stage
Continued from page 19
own memories of acting in high
school. When Ari said he wanted to
go to the University of Manitoba U5-'
study theatre and film it didn't
come as a surprise. He later went
back to, the University of Alberta to
do a three-year acting program.
After graduating in 1994, Ari
performed in prairie theatres before
moving to Toronto two years ago.
"Part of the reason I'm in Toron-
to is to do more film. I'd like to do
both film and theatre."
Ari said he doesn't want to give
up theatre because he likes the inti-
macy of the stage.
"The satisfaction in theatre is
more immediate. You have a con-
nection between the other actors
and the audience."
Ari's film credits include, The
Defenders', Naked City (Show-
time), Too Close to Home (CBS),
For the Moment and Archangel.
When Ari's not on stage you can
probably find him on the golf
course.
working as a carpenter's apprentice
and another summer in wardrobe.
"Props is a combination of every-
thing I love, painting, sewing, car-
pentry and drawing."
Jeff graduated from the costume
design program at York University
in Toronto in 1997. This season he
will be designing the costumes for
the Young Company at Blyth.
Aside from Blyth, Jeff has
worked in Toronto, Vancouver and
throughout the U.S. This winter he
was part ofthe costume department
at the Canadian Opera Company.
Born in Samia, Ont., Jeff and his
older brother were both involved in
technical production in high school.
His brother also lives in Toronto
and works as a technical director
for Livent Theatre, the producers of
such shows as Showboat and Sun-
set Boulevard.
While Jeff and his brother work
in the same field, he said their
approach to work is different.
"I prefer working in small the-
atres," said Jeff. "I love theatre that
means something, that isn't just
about entertaining."
Still setting the stage after
20 years in the theatre