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!