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The opening night and nothing fell off ... the end of my blog

At last we have arrived at the first night for Glengarry Glen Ross here at the Library Theatre Manchester! It went very well; the audience loved it, Chris Honer our director, was really pleased and the actors came out into the bar afterwards looking relaxed and happy. I am always surprised to hear them talk of having been nervous; I would be so in their shoes, but actors always seem to have so much confidence and poise. But when you think about it, it’s a big moment when a play is first presented to an audience and if it goes awry the actors are the ones onstage having to deal with it. All the rest of us who have been involved in the production are safe backstage or out in the auditorium, or in the case of some directors I know of, lurking in the bar! When the set gets stuck, or the leg falls of a chair, or the gun fails to go off, or some one misses a page of dialogue which just happens to explain a crucial twist to the plot, it is the acting company who have to get the show back on track, and they often do so without the audience ever becoming aware of how close they were to watching a crash and burn situation!Thank Goodness! The revolve worked beautifully, the legs stayed on the chairs, these characters assassinate each other with their tongues rather than with guns, and as far as I could see, the acting company was word perfect. We now have two more previews before the press night on Tuesday, so the director will continue to do a bit of work with the actors until then. I have only one more job to do and I keep trying to persuade myself that it is unnecessary! I was hoping that my duty to this show from now on would consist in putting on a nice dress and my new black patent shoes and giving the set a quick look over, before strolling out to the bar to enjoy the press night performance. The problem is the blackboard which the office manager in the play uses to display the sales figures. Its frame has been painted a very dark brown and it just doesn’t look right to me. The model piece was painted a mid-brown which looked much better and fitted in with the other wood on-stage. Why couldn’t the scene painters have just copied the model? Why can’t I just not mind? There is no point arguing with myself, I know I’m going to have to re-paint it. So back to B&Q tomorrow for more paint!
In all other respects, I am pleased with the set; it looks good, it works for the actors and Nick’s lighting sets it all off beautifully. But when you go, don’t forget to notice the costumes! I think they look fantastic and yet most will take them for granted – just seven men in suits after all. But you are now an in-mate of my designer world and know what goes into it all, so you have no excuse for not noticing the subtle range of colours, the styling which reflects the different ages and character of the men, the perfect shaped collars and the ties which pick out colours in the set.

Enjoy the show! Take your friends! Thank you for reading this blog which comes to an end now. After Tuesday I have another little job to work on – the design for The Importance of Being Earnest, our last show in the present building.

Suddenly I am transported from the 1980’s back to the 1890’s
and I enter a whole new world.

Job nearly done.

We are halfway through production week on Glengarry, and it is going well! so well, in fact, that we are a full day ahead of schedule. This means that, instead of slaving away over a hot technical rehearsal, Nick the lighting designer and I were in a restaurant by 8pm, sharing a bottle of wine. It is quite a straightforward show in terms of lighting, there are no quick changes of costume, few sound effects and no projections, all factors which can work together to create a technical rehearsal of epic proportions. Nick and I have been in Techs at the Library which have started on Tuesday evening and finished just before the show opens on Friday night!We moved on to a first dress rehearsal later on yesterday, which also went very well. As I expected, the actors are having to do a bit of adjustment in getting used to the seating booths of the Chinese restaurant. The chairs which they have been using were not really an adequate substitute for the seating which has been built, and the corners of the booths have turned out a bit deeper than I expected. This means that if the actor gets tucked in there, although it is very comfortable, they can’t be seen from a few seats at the front of the auditorium near to the side walls. Since we have time for two more dress rehearsals, I’m hoping that this will sort itself out as they get more used to the space. Also I am going to buy some cushions to pad out the corners so they can’t sit so far back. We have reduced the height and size of the tables too, because they too were proving to be a sightline problem.The set is looking good now that we have got it ‘dressed’. There are massive quantities of box files and other paper work piled up on all the shelves, notice boards on the walls, wire baskets and other office equipment on the desks. This has taken a long time to achieve, so I felt a bit weary at the thought of having to do It all again! This was because the painters were in last night to finish off their work and usually we clear the set for them. However, it turned out that they could cover up the shelving and so we only had to take down the notice board and move the filing cabinets. It is always a relief to me when the painters come on stage because the things which have been bothering me get sorted out; for example on this show, the outside office door is a dark wood grain effect and the painter had seen this as being rather distressed and worn looking, whereas I expected it to look quite smart. Consequently, every time that door has been opened, I have been thinking, that door is not right!

But no tantrums to report! Because everything has gone so smoothly we have all been behaving very well and we remain a happy company. My next, and final update, will tell you about the first night!

First day of the last week before the first night!

It has been the first day of production week today and the set is being built on-stage. It has been slow progress, because before we could start putting the walls and ceiling in place, we had to lay down the revolving stage, This is a sort of jigsaw made up of curved sections which need to be bolted together, a metal cord runs around the circumference, and then the electrics have to be put in place to make the whole thing go round. So far, I haven’t seen it go round but I have to hang on to the thought that in due course, it will! Here is a picture of the revolve being put in.By the end of the day, most of the office has gone up, but not much progress on the restaurant. The technical rehearsal is due to start at 7pm tomorrow, so that is the absolute deadline. If the set isn’t finished by then… no, I don’t even want to think about what happens when the set is not ready for the start of a tech. It’s not good at all.

The first day of the fit-up is not my favourite day; the set looks a mess because it is still in bits, and I see the paint finishes under working lights, which shows up every imperfection. And there is always the worry that it might not fit! All those weeks ago, did I make a crucial mistake on the plans, which no-one has noticed and put right? Will the ceiling be so high that it crashes into the lights? Will the masking flats be in the right place, or will we see the actors sharing a joke with stage management, whilst they wait in the wings? Since the set is still unfinished, my mind is not yet easy, but it won’t keep me awake. In this job, you have to learn to keep things in perspective, and I will tackle the problems as they come along tomorrow.Nick, the lighting designer, has arrived today and as always, I am delighted to see him. He brings good humour and a calm capable manner besides being a gifted designer. I know that he will always make the set look as good as possible, whilst also giving the actors the light they need. It’s amazing what a difference good lighting makes to a show, and a set can be transformed from a tatty collection of old flats to a magical place by means of light in the right colour, shining with the right intensity, from the right direction.

We have fitted our two tailored suits this evening, and chosen the ties! Both actors were really pleased, although David has lost a bit of weight and so Liz will have to take the jacket in a little to make it a better fit. Tomorrow, at the tech, I will see all the costumes on-stage together and be able to check that I have got the balance of colour as I want it. The furniture will be moving onto the set too, then we can start to “dress it” with the files, books, notice boards and other props. Just in case you had forgotten, only 4 days until opening night!

The final week before the show working slighly more than 9 to 5!

I arrived at the theatre in good time yesterday so that I could get into the rehearsal room before the actors started work. I needed to look at the furniture and decide which items I wanted painting in which colour. Alan, a freelance prop maker and set builder, was coming in to do the job, so I needed to make decisions. It would be much easier if I could actually see all the furniture together on the set, but the painting had to be done then. I looked through the various paints which I bought and made a rather random selection, so that Alan could get going. If I have not chosen well I will have to pay for my mistake by doing the job again myself!

In the afternoon I had a treat! I went in to watch a run- through of the play and really enjoyed it. The performances are fantastic; funny, moving and totally engaging. Seeing a run is quite a milestone in the design process because you can actually imagine this performance on your set. In the worst case you get a terrible sinking feeling because it is clear that the director and company have gone off in a different direction, and that your set is not going to serve the piece as well as you hoped. Then it’s an exercise in damage limitation, trying to persuade production staff to make alterations to the set or changing the costume plot. This is not the case with Glengarry, thank Goodness! I don’t pick up any problems which worry me, although there will inevitably be a bit of adjusting to the actual space onstage. It has helped to have so much of the furniture in rehearsal for the office, but I think the curved benches of the Chinese restaurant will feel a bit different from the rows of chairs which have represented them. You can see two of our actors in the photo, sitting in the mocked-up rehearsal room restaurant.

I have collected the picture frames which I ordered a couple of weeks ago and today I have inserted the finished dragon pictures. Painting the scales was a laborious job but I discovered that I could do it with one hand, so I made the most of my time by catching up on some phone calls. I am including a photo of the pictures and you can see that they have turned out well. Certain members of the production team were a bit shocked at the price of the frames, but if you need a big picture doing, it is expensive. Anyway, they look good and will finish off the restaurant set very nicely.

Monday is the day of the fit-up! Next week we will all be at the theatre, from about 9.30am until about 10.30pm each day, getting the show ready for opening night. I will try to keep the blog running to include you in the ups and downs of production week including disasters, delights, tantrums and hissy- fits.

If you don't want to see the play, at least come for the ties!

As you can see in the photo, I have made good progress on the Chinese dragon painting for the restaurant scene in Glengarry. I still have to put in the scales along the dragon’s body and do a bit more on the background before I can call it finished. Then I just have to do another one! I hope I’ll get time on Friday as I don’t want to work this weekend, because my lovely daughter is coming home from London and I want to make the most of seeing her. Yesterday I went over to Liverpool to see the set builders and to go back to the place where I found the grey desks. I met up with Chris, who was driving the van and we loaded up the desks and the other things, then rummaged around for more office paraphernalia, such as box files, hole punchers and notice boards. We drove a hard bargain with the proprietor, mainly because Chris and I turned out our pockets and it was obvious by the time we had finished, that we had not a penny left! I think we still need more lever arch and box type files to fill up all the shelves but the budget has now gone into the red. If anyone reading this has any unwanted files, just drop them off at the stage door!

The set is going on well and the painter has started work, which is good news since we are due to collect it on Thursday! I am always very particular about the colour matching and paint finishes on my set, some would call it control freakery! I think that the quality of painting makes all the difference between a good set and an indifferent one. I hope that the workshop will deliver a paint job that I am really pleased with. I’m including a photo of progress so far. Liz and I went out costume shopping again today and we have found almost all we need. We may still have to buy one or two ties, but we plan to have a good search through our massive stock of striped, patterned and plain ties first. I love our tie boxes! We have big patterned ties from the 50’s, thin ties from the 60’s, wide ties from the 70’s, knitted ties, checked ties, regimental ties; four boxes packed full of colour and texture, just waiting to perfectly finish off an outfit for one of our actors! There are many things I really love about this job and picking out the ties is up there with the best! Even if you are not sure about the play (which is going to be fantastic), come and enjoy the ties!

DIY stores do not the designer maketh...One week to go!

Only a week now until we start the fit-up of the set for Glengarry! Time to make sure that nothing has been forgotten; I look carefully at my photos of the set, check through my notes and the notes which come out of rehearsal and write down my list. There is another progress meeting at lunchtime which is the ideal opportunity to talk through any concerns. I have quite a few things to raise – who is going to paint the furniture? Have the up and down lights been ordered? Have we got tablecloths for the restaurant? Are there any suitable coat hooks in stock? Do we have sufficient box files and folders to dress the set? Arrangements are made for another trip to Liverpool tomorrow, this time in the van, so we can pick up the rest of the furniture and we can make a return visit to the huge crumbling warehouse which proved to be such a treasure store for this show! Chris, our director asks if the doors can be fixed so they stay open and not swing closed by themselves, and Jamie, our Stage Manager asks me to go to his office to look at some glasses for drinks. I’ve just remembered that I didn’t go! Sorry Jamie!

After the meeting I set off with my list of jobs. Across the stage, I discover a row of appropriate coat hooks at the side of the stage which are being used to hang costumes, so I ask if they can be taken down and replaced, so I can use them on the set. When you are a designer, it pays off to notice the little things around you as you never know when you might see exactly what you want, if not for this show, then maybe for the next. Next port of call is Leon’s fabric shop in Chorlton where I buy red material for under table cloths and white cotton for the top cloths. I hope we can now find someone who has time to sew them up.

Then I go on to visit B&Q to buy paint for the furniture. This is not my favourite shop, and I can feel the stress levels rise as I walk through the door. This is a reaction is due to an old wound inflicted on me by them some years ago, when I was desperate for a bit of Lino for a show. I needed about two metres, I needed it NOW, I even had a pair of scissors in my pocket – But, But, But – the lino was not allowed to be cut except by the cutting machine, and there was only one person trained to use the cutting machine, and guess what, he was off on his holidays! I could see it, touch it, but I couldn’t have it. Is it any wonder that I still carry the mental scars? Today I am lucky. And get served with my paint mixing order immediately by a really nice and helpful young man. The people who arrive seconds after me are less fortunate and give up and go home when I put in my order for the sixth colour. Unfortunately for them there is only one person on who is trained to mix paint. I hope I never need paint when he is on his hols! Michael told me not to buy oil-based paint, but that was all they had, so I got it anyway, Sorry Michael!

Back home, and I have started on the Chinese painting, This could well not be as easy as it looks…

Shopping Judith Hidden Dragon

Two days of dashing about! Yesterday started with a visit to the picture framers to finalize my order for the two pictures which hang on the walls in the Chinese restaurant set. I went through my specifications, choosing the frame, what size it should be, the colours of the two mounts – red and black- and the type of glass I require. I could see the person assisting me looking puzzled, “Where are the pictures that you want framing?” she asked, looking to see if I had them secreted about my person. “I haven’t painted them yet.” I said.

When we go shopping for the theatre we often have to do a lot of explaining! In this case I have spent several fruitless hours searching the internet for Chinese pictures of scary-looking dragons, tigers or even eagles, any of which would relate to the predatory nature of the salesmen in Glengarry, but I have had no luck. I’ve also been to various Chinese shops and wholesalers but ferocious beasts are obviously not the in thing when it comes to pictures. So I have reluctantly decided that I will have to paint my own menacing creatures and to this end, have bought a book of Chinese pictures to give me some ideas, some rough cream coloured paper and a bottle of black ink. Tomorrow’s job will be to create the works of art!After the picture framers, I dashed into town to the Library for a fitting with Richard, who plays Roma in the play. The tailor, Barry, came over from Leeds bringing with him the stone coloured suit which he is making for us. It is going on extremely well, as you can see in the photo. The trousers were a perfect fit, and the jacket only needs minor alterations: Richard seemed to be very pleased and particularly liked the colour. He also tried on the shirt and shoes that I told you about in my last up-date and they were a perfect fit, so undoubtedly worth the money!

Then I went over to Liverpool to see the set builders and we took a van to collect the office furniture from this huge rotting warehouse where I found some good stuff last week. The proprietor handed over the furniture and I handed over the cash in a brown envelope, Back at the set builders, I talked over the painting of the Glengarry set with the scenic artist who had come up to meet me. It turned out that he had painted a set of mine a few years ago so we had a bit of catching up to do. Back to Manchester then, for a meeting about the Gala with which we plan to celebrate our last night in the theatre at the Central Library.
Today I have been out propping again, finding chairs and 80’s glasses. Not the sort you drink out of but the ones you wear! A few years ago I discovered a marvellous place on Cheetham Hill which stocks a weird selection of old spectacles alongside perfectly normal new ones. I borrowed about 6 pairs, and then I took them back to try on the actors who have requested glasses. Paul, David and Leigh all found a pair they liked, so another successful trip, another problem solved and another day nearer to the first night!

If you like shopping, this is the job for you!

I have been costume shopping today for Glengarry in Manchester. People often express extreme envy that I go shopping for a job and get to spend lots of someone else’s money! Let me just remind you, I am not buying anything for me! I don’t want to pretend that it is a complete chore, despite the fact that my feet are killing me now. Liz, our wardrobe supervisor is very glamorous and I can’t show her up by tramping round the shops with her, wearing my comfy dog-walking shoes and an old anorak. So I have to make an effort and the little patent ankle boots which I chose for today’s jaunt started to hurt when we were at our furthest point from the theatre. It was a long walk back and it reminded me of the Little Mermaid whose every step was like walking on a thousand knives.
But despite all, it is fun going costume shopping! We march around the shops with our list and a sense of purpose looking for a variety of specific items. We have some shops that we hate (Primark) some we love (Kendals) some we dread (Afflecks Palace, all those stairs! With ten bags of shopping!) some which are dull and useful (Clarks) and some which we resort to in desperate circumstances due to the prices (Russell and Bromley). Today we were looking for men’s shoes in an 80’s style, brown trousers, a variety of shirts and possibly a mac, in case the actor playing Levene has to wear one. At the moment he thinks he may only carry it over his arm, so it doesn’t need to fit, and we have a suitable one that is too small for him to actually wear

I started out at our hairdresser, Peter Reagan’s on Deansgate, where I took one of the actors to have an 80’s style cut. I go along with the actors so I can explain the style I want. Sometimes I take period photos along, but Peter is very good, having worked in films, and knows exactly the look we require. If you secretly desire to have a hair-do like James Dean or David Bowie, to name but two recent iconic heads of hair, then Peter is your man! I then visited shoe shops along Kings Street without success and met up with Liz in Kendals. Here we found a suitable pair of shoes for Roma and some shirts with the right sort of collar for the period. Unfortunately they were all expensive, so we went off to see if we could find anything cheaper. ( Production Manager take note!) M&S delivered up a shirt which might be OK for Levene, and we had a few near misses on the 80’s shoes. One pair too warm a brown to go with a stone suit, another not available in the size. Neither Slaters or Wippels had shirts which could possibly have come from the 80’s, but we found the trousers. So, a return trip to Kendals finished off the afternoon; you can see me in the picture about to buy the overpriced shoes and shirt. Tomorrow we are doing a fitting for a suit, so the actor can try these on too. I’ll try and get a picture for my next up-date. Plus one of the Production Manager stretched out on the floor when he sees the receipt.

Wardrobe fittings

Wardrobe fittings have gone really well! We started off with Nick, who is playing Baylen the cop in Glengarry. We tried on a few shirts and pairs of trousers, found the perfect combination then finished off with a belt, tie and chunky pair of shoes. You can see how he looks in the photo, and there is Jeanette too, our wardrobe assistant, holding up the costume design.

Our next fitting was with James who is playing Aronow. He is one of the less successful salesmen in the play, so we were looking for a conventional suit, not very fashionable and in a dark colour. We picked out a few suits from stock and one of them seems to fit the bill, Again, we managed to find shoes and ties from our stores so they are probably from the 80’s and look appropriately worn-in. James is in the other photo, alongside Jeanette holding his costume drawing.

Leigh is playing Linsk, and he is wearing a jacket and trousers rather than a suit, as he is a customer, rather than a salesman. We didn’t do quite so well for him, although we found a good jacket and some well fitting trousers. I’m just not sure that I want him in grey trousers so I may go into town and see if I can find anything I prefer. I think it’s really interesting that I can go shopping tomorrow and find clothes that would pass for as far back as the 50’s. That’s 60 years! People think that fashion changes much more quickly now than it used to and certainly there are lots of small changes like shorter skirts (for some women but not all!) and the fashion for wearing sports clothes for every day. But basically, I think we are in a loop and unless there is a significant social change, fashion will continue to revive the 60’s 70’s and 80’s for the foreseeable future. Good news for costume designers, in the absence of originals, we can pick up a copy.

Fitting Paul, who plays Williamson and John, who plays Moss, was good fun as they came over together and they make a great double act! John looked great in the first suit he tried and we found a shirt and tie to match, but we still need another shirt for scene two. Paul tried loads of suits before we found the winning entry – he just kept on looking too trendy! Some people wear their clothes well and it can be hard to make them look scruffy, with others it’s hard to make them look smart. So at the end of the day we have something for everyone, quite a few alterations to do and only a short shopping list. Next week we will be fitting the two guys who are having suits tailored – I’ll let you know how we get on.

Impossible - never!

We have had a progress meeting, which is when the members of the production team meet together and discuss, well, our progress! And, yes, there has been some. Avril, our chief L.X., has sourced all the practical lights and the Stage Management team has made a good start on the props. People were pretty busy last week, getting ‘I Ought to be in Pictures’ ready for opening last Friday, ( the audience loved it, get your ticket now!) From now on Glengarry will be the top priority, at least, during the day, so progress should be swift. We usually discuss the rehearsal notes, those little messages from the rehearsal room to the rest of us, which so often ask for most inconvenient or indeed impossible things, but always in the most polite language! At panto-time such a note might read “ Mr Smith wonders if Ms Croft could design an extremely large soft frying pan which Mr Green will use to wallop Mr White over the head on several occasions, It will then need to fold up and fit into Miss Scarlet’s pocket.’ (Sorry, no picture of comedy frying pan, this will have to do).This company are proving to be most reasonable in their requests and have made no difficult-to-satisfy demands so far; in fact the only request I have picked up is for an extra chair in the office. I was quite pleased about that because there was a chair in the backstage ladies loo, which I have been hoping to get on-stage for ages, but it has never quite made it, It’s a rather nice Mid-Century modern tubular steel item and could look very good in the office, so I have sent it into the rehearsal room to see if it will be suitable. I expect to hear one way or another via a rehearsal note!
I've just got back from Liverpool, having seen the set in progress - see photo, and I have finally found grey 80's desks! I have put stickers on a few things to reserve them, so next week we will have to return with a van and a wad of cash!

Time to get the props out of the freezer...

Today’s up-date is a bit of a catch up on the things I have been doing which I haven’t yet told you about. I have been out on another propping trip, touring the second-hand furniture shops of Greater Manchester. We had considerable success in Whalley Range where a huge, freezing store offered up 80’s swivel chairs, metal shelving units and some desks which are so near to being right that I bought three.

Two of the chairs are going to be recovered by their in-shed upholsterer, in suitably drab colours. I was assured that he is the best living upholsterer; he certainly must be the coldest living upholsterer – I have rarely been so cold in my life as I was after spending an hour rooting around that place! My hands and feet were frozen numb and I am still working hard to fight off a cold as a result. However, three desks! Two of them will be cut down to size and then I have to decide whether to paint them grey as the model, or to leave them in their existing livery of dark brown wood-effect veneer.

I had a fitting with the actor playing Richard Roma. He tried on a few sharp 80’s suits and although he looked really good in a silver grey double breasted one from stock, we decided to follow the costume drawing and have a light stone coloured suit made for him in the same style .I went off to Leon’s fabric shop in Chorlton for the suit material, then to John Lewis for some posh lining to finish the jacket.

I went into the rehearsal room to look at the arrangement of furniture in the office set; it looks good, but I need to be careful not to choose things which are too big, as the space is quite limited. I made a return trip to the builders in Liverpool to take back the model, and while I was there, had a quick look at progress so far. I commented on the routing of the floor tiles which was more strongly marked than I expected. Builders like designers to come and see progress and then probably wish afterwards that the designer had stayed away! I thought it was cold in the furniture warehouse, but the workshop in Liverpool was sub-zero. How anyone can work in those temperatures is beyond me, but in the world of set building, men are still men! Next up-date will be the progress meeting of the production team – how much progress have we made? I’ll tell you on Wednesday.

Being pinned, hitched and squeezed - all in a days work

It is time to fill you in on what’s going on in the Wardrobe department regarding the costumes for Glengarry Glen Ross. Seven men in suits appears to be a fairly easy brief at first. But then…it has to be the right suit for the character, an appropriate colour, texture and cut. To look as if it has come from the 80’s certainly; maybe up-to-date 80’s for Roma (remember double breasted, wide shoulders and pleat fronted trousers?) but tired and well worn late 70’s for Levene. It can’t be tweedy and English – this is Chicago! And the suit has to look like it belongs to its wearer; we have to believe that he actually chose it from a shop or a tailor at some point.
Fortunately I have some good luck on my side in that the Library Theatre Co has a very good stock of modern day costumes where I can start my search. So Liz, our wardrobe supervisor, Jeanette, our wardrobe assistant and I set to work to drag out any suits, macs or jackets which may be useful. Liz has a great eye for men’s costume and knows at a glance if I am straying into the 1960’s or the 1990’s. She is happy to alter costumes to fit, but you can only go far with tailoring before it loses its shape altogether, so we sort the suits out by size and allocate them to each actor. You can see the costume rail with copies of the costume drawings pinned on in the photo. Later in the week, we will call the actors for costume fittings and try to get a fit not only literally, but also between character and costume.Actors can’t afford to be shy; they have to get their kit off and let us get them into the costumes even if it involves being pinned, hitched up or squeezed into a corset. I have seen some memorable underwear during a long career in theatre, but professional discretion does not allow me to tell you more!

Back to Glengarry! I can’t find a suitable brownish late 70’s suit for Levene in the right size amongst our stock, so we decide to ask our freelance tailor to make us one to fit. The other option would be for me to go down to London to hire one from the big costume hire place, Angels, but the prices are high, there is my train fare to consider and if we get one made it will be available for future shows as part of our stock. Liz and Jeanette find some good fabric and so that job is now on-going. Hopefully, the fittings will go well and we can get most of the rest from stock, which would be great news for the budget. I’ll let you know how we get on.

Read Through - but where's our model?

Today we have had our first rehearsal for Glengarry Glen Ross, which has taken place at the Zion Centre. The rehearsal room at the Library is still being used by the ‘I Ought To Be In Pictures’ company, before they go on stage on Wednesday. This is the day when the actors read through the play together for the first time and I present my model and costume drawings to the company. The stage management team are all there, also the wardrobe department and Mike, our press officer. We all introduce ourselves then Chris, the director, says “Let’s read the play!”

It is a fantastic reading; funny, loud, violent and inventive. The actor sitting next to me is playing Moss, and I nearly jump out of my seat a couple of times with the energy of his reading. The American accents are all there and the play leaps off the page. We read right through without a break and despite the strength of the actor’s portrayal I feel increasingly unsettled. Something is missing. The Model!

Yes, the model which I am about to present is not there! I had my concerns about this happening earlier on, since I hadn’t seen it since we left it at the set builders in Liverpool. I tried to track it down, couldn’t get hold of the production management team who were due to pick it up, and so assumed it was on its way. Alas, it was languishing back at base camp whilst I was getting steadily more nervous at its non-appearance down at the Zion. At the end of the reading, under cover of tea and biscuits Chris, the A.S.M., scooted off to the Library to collect it. We passed the time with discussion of the play, and then I did an in-depth presentation of the costumes, which I described in some detail and passed around the costume drawings. There were approving smiles and comments from the acting company which always bodes well. I practise a certain honourable manipulation in the matter of my costume drawings; I have discovered that people are much more likely to be happy with their costume if they like the drawing, so I usually take the time to make them attractive.

Chris finally returns just as I had given up hope! The company gathers round and I talk them through the two sets. I’m pleased to be able to include the photo of them giving the model the thumbs-up! Actors are always really appreciative of designers and I bask in their approval as the compliments roll in, Guess what? They even give me a round of applause!

It's you or the chair! Hunting for props.

I have been out with Jamie, our company stage manager and Chris, the assistant stage manager, to start the task of furnishing the office for Glengarry in authentic 1980’s American style, on a limited budget of course.I hadn’t thought it would be particularly easy, but now I’m starting to think it is actually going to be quite difficult! The trouble is, the office furniture that we want was thrown out about 10 years ago and is now slowly rotting away in some land-fill site, beyond the reach of the even the keenest of stage managers! Newish desks have no sides and extra little cabinets which sit underneath instead of proper drawers. They might have built in shelves to put your computer monitor on. But the desks I am looking for are more traditional, maybe made of grey laminate or perhaps metal. The salesmen would not have had their own computers so the tops need to be flat and the drawers should be part of the structure. We also need filing cabinets, shelves, desk chairs and notice boards all from the same era; after our first day out hunting, it’s starting to feel a bit daunting!

We have been out to the props store of a friendly theatre in Lancaster where we hit lucky with a filing cabinet, but no desks. I was tempted by the crocodile you can see in this photo. I could imagine it sitting, looking dangerous, on top of a bookcase – could it be a symbol of the sharp practises, tenacity and ferocity of the salesmen in our play? Or would it look like the designer had totally lost it? Come and see the show if you really want to know!

We went on to a huge second-hand furniture centre which had nothing suitable except, yes, a filing cabinet. Our final stop was at a charity furniture place which was stacked out with old office furniture – but the wrong old office furniture. This was light oak laminate and quite definitely from the 90’s and not American by any stretch of the imagination. I did try to stretch my imagination, but it was no good. Next door is a shop which specializes in office furniture, both new and second-hand, and guess what, they had plenty of filing cabinets! But no suitable desks. I found two office chairs which I liked; I’m sitting in one in the photo. Jamie vetoed the other as too expensive. So, a day’s work, a 100 or so miles and our office is not a great deal better off than when we started.

I’ve since been snooping around the offices at work to see if anyone is hiding the perfect desk under a mound of papers, but so far no luck. I have found a couple of possible office chairs, however. Let’s hope their owners can be persuaded to hand them over or they may have to mysteriously disappear. The chairs, that is, not the owners; but then again, designers are notoriously single-minded and it is not good to stand between them and a prop they really, really want!

Trip to see the set builders and their killer robot!

We have been over to Liverpool Scenic Workshop to meet up with the set builder. Like most theatres now, we no longer have our own construction department, and so this work is out-sourced to other workshops which specialize in building sets for theatre. We have good relationships with several such businesses and I am looking forward to working with the people at Liverpool, because I came over to see them last summer and was really impressed with their professionalism. We are met by Bob, who has already seen photos of the set, received a ground plan and has started putting the design onto C.A.D. You may be able to pick out the outline of the revolve on the screen in the photo.

I love it when my designs get transferred onto C.A.D. because I can then be certain that if I have made some ghastly mistake in my drawings, it will be discovered before the set has been built, painted and taken into the theatre! I always used to have a slight nervousness as I made my way to the theatre on the morning of a fit-up, that something wouldn’t fit, the whole thing would be a disaster and it would be all down to me adding or subtracting a few centimetres at the working drawing stage. Since the advent of computer aided design, I can stroll in to work and pick up a coffee with a quieter mind.

The workshop is vast and very cold on a bleak January day, but well equipped with computer controlled cutting machinery besides the usual saws, drills and paint equipment. There is a new laser cutting machine which can carve solid material to a given design, which sits by the wall looking like a malevolent robot. Bob tells us that it moves so quickly that if you were to stray into its area of operations, it would kill you before you could run away! I am only prepared to go anywhere near it once I know that it is not plugged in.

Bob has no concerns about the ceiling of the office and talks about linking it through to the back of the Chinese restaurant set, with some sort of cantilevering going on. It all sounds fine to me, so I agree and try to look knowledgeable. I leave my working drawings and the model so they can get started on putting the design into the computer before they start the build.

On the way out we take a look at the set for I Ought To Be In Pictures which is now being painted and is looking good. Next Monday it will be fitted up at the Library, ready for the show to open later in the week. Meanwhile Glengarry will start rehearsals, and I will need to get the model back, so I can show it to the actors at the read-through. In my next up-date I’ll let you know how if they like it!

Planing and the tricky bits!

Part of the design process involves drawing up plans which describe the set from different angles. The ground plan shows the set from above and marks it’s footprint on the stage floor with a solid line and anything suspended above is shown with a broken line; this is the crucial plan to get right as it is drawn over a copy of the actual theatre space and thus we all know that the set will actually fit onto the stage. Only the other day I heard a story about a time when a set failed to fit, being too big. This is obviously very bad news when the construction team only usually have a day to get the set up. Investigations took place and it turned out that the designer had deliberately enlarged the dimensions of the theatre building in order to accommodate their design! Production management tend to view the average designer with some suspicion at the best of times and when you hear of things like that, you have to concede they have good reason!

In addition to the ground plan, I do a set of working drawings which show the various pieces of scenery from the front and the side. The set is quite small for Glengarry, so the job has only taken me a couple of days or so. Thank Goodness! Because doing these drawings is my least favourite part of the job .I managed to get an O’level in maths sometime in the distant past, but I get easily confused where numbers are concerned, although that wonderful invention, the scale ruler, does most of the hard work. In the photo you can see me, back bent, struggling with those little millimetres over my drawing board.

The other photo shows our Production Manager, Michael, with his colleagues, Gareth and Dave, looking over the plans. Fortunately, they don’t pick up any problems so we can proceed. I had wondered if they might have some concerns about the overhanging ceiling of the office, because since the set is on the revolve and turns around at the interval, the ceiling can’t be suspended from above. But Michael has confidence in the ability of the builders who will be contracted to construct the set, so I put out of mind any vague back-up plan I had been considering, in case the ceiling, in its present form, got the thumbs down.

In my next up-date I will report back on our visit to the set builders, when we take the model over to show them the design.

Biscuits could have made the difference?

We have now had the production meeting for Glengarry!
We all met in the Spotlighters Bar, because the rehearsal room where we usually get together is being used for I Ought to be in Pictures, our next show. Chris, our director, said a bit about the play, then I had to show the model and costume drawings and talk about the design. The assembled company included Production Management, LX, Stage Management and the Wardrobe department and each member of staff is there to consider “what does this mean for me?” People are often amazed at how short a time we have to get everything ready for the first night; but the production departments of a theatre when working in top gear, are a highly effective force. Seeing the model and other design work at the production meeting is the start of the process.
You may remember that my preferred response from people seeing my models is “wow, that’s brilliant!” But I know better than to expect that at a production meeting. They have all seen so many designer’s models that they are inured to its wow-ness and possible brilliance. The painstaking work that goes into creating the minute detail is taken for granted and what the team really want to know is, how do I think it will be made and what material will be used and will it cost too much? Questions which I have to answer or side-step with a certain suave confidence, because it is so important to give the impression that I do really know what I’m doing! Some production meetings are, for the hapless designer, a bit like being the main course for a pride of lions, but our meeting is good natured enough, although there is a distinct shortage of biscuits. But even so the happy team photo didn’t happen.
Biscuits could have made the difference. You will have to make do with a picture of me looking at the model with Jamie, our Company Stage Manager. Everybody soon disappears to deal with more pressing matters such as the Re:Play festival, now playing, or the show which opens in two weeks time. People work very hard during the season and there is very little let-up. Except for me! I award myself the rest of the day off, and go into town to see if there is anything left in the sales.

Out of the woods and in to the budget ...

I have now finished the model, but I'm not out of the woods yet - I've still got to finish the costume drawings and the groundplan before the production meeting, then the production team can see all the aspects of this particular design and so be able to cost it. Inevitably it will cost more than the budget and the various departments will scrap over how the money is shared out. The usual pecking order is that construction gets the lion's share, wardrobe appropriates most of what's left, leaving electrics (LX) and stage management to pick over the bones. Everybody is fairly happy with this system, as most departments get what they need and LX are used being left with hardly anything and are resigned to hardship. So it's really only stage management who have the task of, say, trying to fill the stage with antique furniture including a dinner table with a three course meal, for about £100! And they do it so well!

Anyway, costing for Glengarry is a problem that I don't need to worry about today. It will probably creep up on me in a couple of week’s time, necessitating compromises and negotiation or maybe exchange and barter!

Here are pictures of the finished model so you can see the considerable level of detail that we theatre designers put into our work. People tend to make the same few comments when they see designer’s models. "Wow, that's amazing" is always a welcome response and makes up in part for the long hours and the paint covered hands. " It's just like a doll's house" is another thing people often say, Less easily impressed folk say "Why do you have to make all the little bits of furniture and the files and books and lamps?" I sometimes think what they really mean is that sitting around making tiny 1/25 scale telephones is not making a proper contribution to the work of the world! They may have a point, but there is no doubt that making a detailed model helps everyone to understand what we are working towards as a production team; to make it look like the model is the goal we are all aiming at. And then once the show goes into rehearsal, the acting company and director also use the model to help them understand the space, see the positions of furniture and get a feel for the atmosphere.

My next up-date will tell you how the production meeting goes and hopefully include pictures of the team looking really happy!

How it all started ...

I have been working on the design for a while now and have had meetings with Chris, the director, to talk through our ideas. Glengarry Glen Ross is set in the 1980's, in a big city in America,which we imagine could be Chicago. It's a story about a group of real estate salesmen who are being pushed to the limit and have to use every trick to survive. There are two sets, a chinese restaurant where the salesmen go to relax, pick up custom and make their plots with or against each other, and an office , where there has been a break-in. So the first thing I had to think about was how to manage the change between the two sets, although it's an easier change than many, in that the scene change happens in the interval. I also set about some research; films from the period, internet pictures of American China-towns, my local chinese restaurant! A fact-finding trip to Chicago wasn't in the budget, unfortunately!
To start with I persued an idea of a kind of city-scape with city lights, advertising signs and so on, with scenery for each set brought on from the wings to create the office and restaurant. It had it's advantages but in the end we decided to go for a more focussed design, with no distraction from the intensity of the action of the play. Each set being smaller, I was then able to fit everything onto the revolving stage which will make the scene changes a whole lot easier and therefore me much more popular with the backstage gang! So that's where I'm up to now,working late to get the scale model finished for the production meeting later this week. Somehow this always seems to happen, no matter how much time I start off with - working late at the last minute! It's 9pm and I've still got lots of tiny bits of office furniture to finish off. You can see the little filing cabinets in the photo. I'll put some pictures of the finished model in with my next up-date so you can see a scale version of the set you will see when you come to see the show in a few weeks time!