Theatre Geekery

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Playwriting - Theatre Teaching Resources for Social Distancing

In these uncertain times due to the SARS-COV-2 virus that causes COVID19, if you are looking for theatre lessons because your school has managed to switch to online classes or if you would like to teach your own children about theatre, please remember, the Theatre Geekery blog is a FREE resource.

Here are some of the posts about playwriting.

There are plenty of other posts. Just use the "Search this Blog" feature in the left sidebar of a post.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Sunday, February 9, 2020

What a nICE Performance!

The Snow Queen in Lake Charles for six more performances.

A rose grows between the houses of two good childhood friends, Gerda and Kai. They tend to the rose together and then go to play. When it gets cold, they make sure that the rose is safe and warm inside. They read a story abut a Snow Queen and Gerda's grandmother tells them about the Snow Queen's mirrors and how one broken and could change the views of a person. Later on, Kai has gone missing because he fell victim to the broken mirror. He, somehow, found his way to the Snow Queen. All Kai could do was try to solve a riddle and constantly do math to try to solve it.

These events happen during The Snow Queen, a new musical by Haddon Kime, Kirsten Brandt, and Rick Lombardo. Performances are currently happening at the Lake Charles Little Theater. Gerda, who is the main character in the music, is played by Hunter Becton. She is a great actress and is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. However, the stand out start in the play is definitely Cole Becton. He has to show a wide range of emotions during the play and seems to accomplish them with ease. Taylor Novak-Tyler also does a great job of being distant, icy, and uncaring as The Snow Queen.

Other actors are Katie Becton (Grandmother, Robber Mom), Louis Barrilleaux (Prince, Reindeer, Troll, Crow), Heather Foreman (Princess, Garden Witch, North Witch), Lilly Brady (Rose, Robber Girl), Timothy Smith (Troll King, Old Crow), Cagle Kaough (Flower, Lady Crow), Crista Corbello (Flower, Pigeon), Everly Spears (Flower, Pigeon), Supratik Regni (Troll, Robber, Crow), Antonio Dre (Troll, Robber, Crow).

The set was excellently made. The houses seemed warm and the rest of the set was painted perfectly to look like snowy mountains. There was an excellent use of icicle lights to make a melting effect when snow and ice was supposed to be melting.

Crew for the show are the following people: Bacot Wright (Director), Dan Sadler (Assistant Director, Music Director), Heather Partin (Costumer), Gregory Leute (Stage Combat), Robert Grider (Light Operator, Dramaturge), Liz Trahan (Program). The set was constructed by Louis Barrilleaux, Dan Sadler, James Johnson, Bacot Wright, Katie Cole, and Gregory Leute.

There are quite a few differences from Hans Christian Andersen's story, but the general plot is followed. Expect to see a new story rather than one that completely follows the story by Andersen. Also, do not confused the play with any of the movies or specials with the same title, even if they are based on Andersen's story. This is also not Disney's Frozen, even though that story is very loosely based on Andersen's tale.

The play is in Lake Charles for six more performances. The dates and times are as follows:

Friday, February 14, 2020 at 7pm
Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 7pm
Sunday, February 16, 2020 at 2pm
Friday, February 21, 2020 at 7pm
Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 7pm
Sunday, February 23, 2020 at 2pm

You can buy tickets online at The Lake Charles Little Theater Vendini site. You can also buy tickets by calling 337-433-7988

For more information, visit The Lake Charles Little Theater website or e-mail

Saturday, January 18, 2020

This is a Show-Brainer! Go See Big: The Musical.

Show in Lake Charles for Three More Performances

A boy stands in line waiting to ride a roller coaster. When he gets up to the ticket taker, he is told that he can't ride because he is too short. This boy is Josh Baskin. This leads Josh to wishing that he is big. When he finds a fortune granting machine called Zoltar, he makes the wish to be big. This leads to an unexpected situation when Josh suddenly finds that he has turned to an adult over night.

Macmillan and Josh dance on the big piano in the toy store.

Later, he finds himself not knowing how to find a job or live as an adult, but he wanders into a toy store and because of really being a child, he knows what childern like and the owner of the company falls in love with him as a potential employee for research and development and hires him on the spot.

All of this happens in Big: The Musical which is currently playing at McNeese's Tritico Theatre by Lake Charles Christian Youth Theatre. There were no stand out stars of this show, but every person involved in the show did a good job. There were some issues with singing and audio, but technical equipment that did not work correctly was probably the main cause of these things. I also went the first night of the show, so there may be issues that are being fixed before the second show.

The show stars Zachary Benoit (Josh Baskin), Elisabeth Pettefer (Susan Lawrence), Mattie Schafer (Mrs. Baskin), Stuart Riviere (Billy Kopecki), Dylan Freeman (Little Josh Baskin), Jared Bates (Macmillan and Zoltar), Cole Becton (Paul Seymour and Arcade Attendant), Malachi Carroll (Derek and Jr. Design Executive), CeeCee Doucet (Miss Watson and Parent #2), Randilyn LeJeune (Cynthia Benson and Jr. Executive's Child), Chloe Lankford (Kid in Toy Store), Katherine Rion (Ticket Taker and Panhandler), Cami Bodin (Cynthia's Friend #1), Tziyon Howell (Cynthia's Friend #2), Gabriella Barrios (Cynthia's Friend #3), Peyton Mangrum (Benjamin Rubinstein), Duff Nichols (Kid on the Street), Bliss Nichols (Kid on the Street, Bearded Lady and Salesperson #3), Whitney Nguyen (Jr. Executive), and Bradlei Farnum (Young Susan).

The adult ensemble consists of Abigail Pettefer Amanda Sanders, Ava Lankford, Bliss Nichols, Cecilia Barrios, Danielle Bourgeois, Katherine Rion, and Malachi Carroll. The child ensemble consists of Bradlei Farnum, Cami Bodin, Chloe Lankford, Duff Nichols, Dylan Freeman, Elliot Fuselier, Gabriela Barrios, Peyton Mangrum, Randilyn LeJeune, Reese Corkran, and Tziyon Howell.

The set was impressive, especially for a local production where the set is made by volunteers such as the children's parents and others in the community who love theatre. The most ipmressive was the toy piano, of course, which also allowed the cast to show of some of their dancing talent. The fact that there was a bunk bed that could support somebody on the top bunk was also impressive.

The lighting was nothing spectacular, but it fit the musical and that's what matters.

If you would like to catch this musical, it is in Lake Charles for three more performances. They are on the following dates and times:

Saturday, Jan 18th @ 1:00pm
Saturday, Jan 18th @ 7:00pm
Sunday, Jan 19th @ 3:00pm

All performances take place at McNeese's Tritico Theatre which is located in the Shearmann Fine Arts Annex located on the corner of Ryan and Sale, across from Walgreens.

If you buy a ticket at the door, it is $20. However, if you buy a ticket online, it is $15. You can get a ticket for $10 online if you are in a group of 10 or more that buys their tickets online together, if you are a child 12 or under, if you are 65 or over, if you are in the military, or if you are a student You can buy tickets online at Lake Charles's Christian Youth Theater Webite for the musical Big and clicking on the "Purchase Tickets" button.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

5 Religious Musicals You May Not Have Known Existed

If you are looking for religious musicals, there are many of them that exist. The great thing about religious musicals is that usually once you have purchased them, that is the only thing that is required as a license for performance for your group. Of course, publishes and most likely composers appreciate if you purchase as many scripts and scores that are needed for your group, but some of them even come with agreements that allow groups to make copies for performance as long as they are not distributed to other groups.

Maybe Jonah was swallowed by a whale (or a big fish) that looked something like this.

Here are five religious musicals that you may not have known exist.

Catechism Cataclysm by Jay Beech and Dave Eliason
This musical has nothing to do with the 2011 dark film. It a catechism (or confirmation) class is struggling with memory work. The reason they need to get it done is so they can go on the canoe trip after classes are over. This is a fun 50 minute musical.
A Season to Celebrate by Allen Pote

This musical covers the life of Jesus, even from before he was born. It is basically why the church year exists put into musical form.
Daniel, Darius & DeLion by Sue Farrar

This musical is the story of Daniel in the lion's den told from the viewpoint of the lion. It is a fun 30 minute musical with a great twist on perspective. There are a lot of great pieces that true theatre artists could bring to life that most likely have not been done. There are plenty of examples of this musical on YouTube.

Here is one example of this musical:
Oh, Jonah! by Allen Pote

This musical is the story of Jonah and it manages to tell his story beyond the basics of being swallowed by a whale and spit up onto the shore. Participants are sure to learn more about the Jonah story by being a part of this musical. It is a 30 minute musical. There are even many examples of it on YouTube, but true theare artists could probably make it come much more alive than anything that can be found on YouTube.

Here is one example of the musical from YouTube:
The Song We Came to Sing by Sheldon Curry and Doris J. Simpson

It seems like this musical is completely out of print, which is sad. It is a 30 minute musical that is mostly singing from the score with some funny moments. The musical is literally the happenings in a church youth choir, so it is perfect for a church youth choir or any youth choir with those who are Chrisitans. A memorable lyric is "The song we came to sing is a song of many things, of how God's love flowers like spring; the song we came to sing." A memorable line is "Joe Namath was in the Bible?!"

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and as an Amaazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Wal-Mart affiliate and in the rare case I cannot find the product on Amazon, I can earn from those links. Please consider purchasing from my links as they help me to live and help me be able to write more content for you here.

Friday, December 20, 2019

How to Make an Icy Lawn Out of Balloons - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

If you need to make a set that looks like there is a icy or frozen lawn, making the frozen lawn is actually very easy. The only thing you truly need are balloons. If you want the balloons to stay put in the places where you put them, then you can tape them to the stage.

An icy lawn around an icy pathway.

In order to make an icy lawn, you will need the following items:

A lot of little blue and white balloons. You can use bigger balloons, but the effect will not work as well. Of course, the further away the balloons are from the audience, the smaller they will look. You may want some small white balloons such as MOWO 5" White Latex Balloons Party Decorations, Pack of 200 and a couple of shades of light blue balloons such as Neo LOONS 5" Pearl Light Blue Premium Latex Balloons -- Great for Kids , Adult Birthdays, Weddings , Receptions, Baby Showers, Water Fights, or Any Celebration, Pack of 100 and In-JOOYAA 5 Inch Small Balloons 200 Pack Macaron Blue Latex Party Balloons for Photo Shoot Wedding Baby Shower Birthday Party Decorations
Optional: LOTS of this white stage tape (gaffer tape) such as Professional Premium Grade Gaffer Tape - White 1 in x 60 Yds - Heavy Duty Pro Gaff Tape - Secures Cables, Holds Down Wires Leaves No Sticky Residue Easy to Tear, Multipurpose, Better Than Duct Tape

In order to make the icy frozen lawn:

Blow up as many of the balloons as needed in order to cover the area that you need to look like an icy lawn. If you are a teacher and have theatre classes where kids can do this, get some volunteers, perhaps let them blow up balloons during class.
If you do not mind the balloons moving around on the stage, all you have to do is let them go onto the stage.
However, if you need the balloons to stay in the same places and just be able to move a little bit like an icy lawn does, then you will need to tape them down via the mouth of the balloon. Do this with small pieces of thin white gaffer tape. Having white gaffer tape will ensure than the set still looks like a frozen lawn.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and as an Amaazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Wal-Mart affiliate and in the rare case I cannot find the product on Amazon, I can earn from those links. Please consider purchasing from my links as they help me to live and help me be able to write more content for you here.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

How to Make Acropora Coral Out of Crayons and Paper Plates - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

If you are preparing set pieces for the musical Titanic, you may want to prepare some pieces that look like coral. There are many different types of coral. One genus is Acropora (or more accurately, Acroporidae) coral. While there are some corals of this genus that vary in look, there is one look that tends to be prevalent.

One of many species of Acropora Coral

This Acropora coral can be made with a flat surface like heavy duty paper plates and crayons.

In order to make set pieces that look like Acropora Coral, you will need the following items.

Brown crayons such as 50 Brown Crayons Bulk - Single Color Crayon Refill - Regular Size 5/16" x 3-5/8". (You may want different shades of browns and reds as well - look at pictures to determine what color crayons you'd like).
Heavy duty paper plates such as 100% Compostable White 10-inch Paper Plates, 75-Plates, Heavy-Duty Premium Quality Disposable Plate
Heavy duty scissors such as Wiss W10TM SCISSOR,FULL METAL,TITANIUM COATED,10"
Multi-purpose lighters such as Bic Multipurpose Lighters, 4 Pack
Optionally, you may want a hot glue gun such as ccbetter Upgraded Mini Hot Melt Glue Gun with 30pcs Glue Sticks,Removable Anti-hot Cover Glue Gun Kit with Flexible Trigger for DIY Small Craft Projects & Sealing and Quick Daily Repairs 20-watt,Blue

Here's how you make Acropora coral:

First, if you want the surface to be a different shape than just round, cut your paper plate to the shape you'd like.
Peel the labels off of the crayons.
Now, break the crayons by hand to the general length you'd like. Remember that the length will shorten a bit when you make the coral.
Hold a piece of crayon onto the paper plate. Use the multi-purpose lighter to melt some of the crayon so that the wax gets to a liquid at the bottom. Once that happens, let the crayon rest in the wax.
If you want, you can use the hot glue gun to glue the crayon to the plate and make it more secure.
Repeat steps four and five, putting pieces of crayons in different places until your plate or piece of plate is completely covered and it looks like the acropora coral that you are trying to mimic.
If you need more pieces of coral, make more surfaces and repeat steps four through six.

If you are wondering, the exact type of acropora coral that you can mimic in this way are Acropora nana, Acropora tenuis, Acropora nasuta, and Acropora monticulosa. While up close, there are more details to these corals, on the stage, broken crayons melted or glued onto a flat surface will mimic the far away look just fine.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and as an Amaazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Wal-Mart affiliate and in the rare case I cannot find the product on Amazon, I can earn from those links. Please consider purchasing from my links as they help me to live and help me be able to write more content for you here.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

How to Make Curly Leaf Pondweed Out of Green Pool Noodles - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

You might be preparing set pieces for a musical such as The Pirates of Penzance. In this case, you may want some plants for the water. One of these plants is curly leaf pondweed.

A picture of Vesuvius Sword from Arizona Acquatic Gardens

This plant is often mistaken as a type of coral, especially in set pieces. The official name for curly leaf pondweed is Vesuvius Sword. Set pieces made to look like this plant can be made by using green pool noodles.

This is a fairly easy craft if you don't have trouble cutting pool noodles. You only need the following items:

Green pool noodles such as Noodle Builder 10 Pack of 24 Inch Lime Green Pool Noodles
Heavy duty scissors that can cut through pool noodle foam such as Wiss W20 10-3/8-Inch Inlaid Heavy Duty Industrial Shears.

Here are the instructions to make one piece of curly leaf pondweed or Vesuvius Sword. If you need more than one piece, repeat with the remaining pool noodles.

Cut the pool noodle at the length you want the pondweed.
Starting from one of the ends where the hole is in the pool noodle, cut in a downward spiral motion. You can decide if you want to cut all the way through the bottom and somehow prop it up or leave part of the bottom closed and prop it up with it closed.
After you are through cutting, you may want to shape it more with your hands.

You should now have a set piece that looks like curly leaf pondweed. All you will need to do now is figure out how you want to place it on the stage and how you would like to hold it up on stage.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and as an Amaazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Wal-Mart affiliate and in the rare case I cannot find the product on Amazon, I can earn from those links. Please consider purchasing from my links as they help me to live and help me be able to write more content for you here.

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

5 Musicals That Take Place In or Near the Water

I needed to take a break from how-to articles. However, I still wanted to post a blog post.

Being that I've been concentrating on underwater set pieces, I figured I'd give a list of musicals that take place in or near the water.

An image of water

The Little Mermaid
You can order and listen to the Broadway cast recording: The Little Mermaid: Original Broadway Cast Recording
You can always watch the original movie: The Little Mermaid
The Pirates of Penzance
You can watch this on Amazon: The Pirates of Penzance
You can watch it on DVD: The Pirates of Penzance
You can listen to the soundtrack: Gilbert & Sullivan: The Pirates of Penzance
Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical
You can listen to the soundtrack: SpongeBob SquarePants, The New Musical (Original Cast Recording)
South Pacific
You can watch the movie: South Pacific
You can listen to the soundtrack: South Pacific (Original Soundtrack Recording)
Anything Goes
You can watch the movie on Amazon: Anything Goes
You can watch the movie on DVD: Anything Goes
You can listen to the soundtrack: Anything Goes (New Broadway Cast Recording)

Sunday, December 15, 2019

How to Make Seaweed Out of Plastic Tablecloths - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

Maybe you are preparing sets in case you can get rights to Sea Ya Later: An Underwater Musical! by STAR Theatre. In that case, you might need huge set piece that is supposed to be seaweed. If this is what you need, you can make seaweed out of plastic table clothes. This is somewhat similar to making seaweed out of trash bags, but plastic table cloths do not stretch like trash bags do.

An underwater view of seaweed, especially on the right side of the picture.

In order to make these seaweed set pieces, you need the following items:

Scissors such as CCR 8-inch Scissors with Soft Comfort-Grip Handles
Plastic table cloths such as White 12 Pack Premium Disposable Plastic Tablecloth, though you may want to get colors such as brown or green.
Brown spray paint such as Krylon Leather Brown COLORmaxx Spray Paint
Green spray paint such as Krylon Hunter Green COLORmaxx Spray Paint
A way to hang your seaweed outside
A way to hang your seaweed as the set piece or pieces

In this tutorial, only one tablecloth will be used to make seaweed. If you need more than one table cloth for your set, repeat the process with more tablecloths.

In order to make the seaweed:

Unfold the tablecloth and make sure that the longest side is at the top while the shorter sides are at the sides as it is likely that this is the way you want it (though, if your measurements are different, then position the tablecloth for your measurements).
Cut vertical strips about two inches wide, starting from the bottom and leaving about two inches uncut at the top. None of this has to be completely perfect because if it is perfect, it is likely that it will not look like seaweed.
Once the strips are cut, the they can be twisted lightly by hand. Do not try to stretch the tablecloth.
Take the tablecloth outside and hang it up.
Spray paint the tablecloth with brown and green spray paint. You want to make sure that this covers all the seen parts well.
Let the paint dry. If this looks good, you can leave it.
You can twist the strips of the tablecloth more if you would like.
If the paint did not cover well, you can spray paint again.
Repeat the process of twisting and painting until you are happy with your results.
Once happy, the seaweed can be hung as a set piece.

Saturday, December 14, 2019

How to Make Seaweed Out of Trash Bags - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

You may be preparing props and set pieces for underwater musicals you are waiting for to have licensing options such as Spongebob: The Musical. If this is the case, you may need to make seaweed for your set. While it seems like seaweed would be a difficult set piece to make, it is actually very easy.

Seaweed

You will need the following items:

Small Trash Bags such as Hefty Small Trash Bags, 4 Gallon.
Scissors such as AmazonBasics Multipurpose Office Scissors
Green and brown spray paints such as Rust-Oleum 6 PK Specialty Camouflage Spray Pack
A flat surface such as scrap wood or old cardboard.
Pins or tape to hold the plastic trash bag material to your flat surface.

In order to make the seaweed:

Start by taking your trash bags and cutting 2" wide strips. Of course, the measurement doesn't have to be perfect, but this is about the size that you want.
Once the strips are cut, hook your index and middle finger underneath both sides of the shortest width at the top, holding them with your thumb.
Stretch the bag, but do not pull so much that the bag tears.
Repeat steps 2 and 3, moving down the long part of the strip until you reach the end.
Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each strip until you have enough pieces of seaweed for your set.
You are now going to need to put the strips onto your flat surface. Secure them at the top and bottom. They do not have to be held tightly.
Once your strips are secured to the flat surface, use your spray paints to paint the seaweed the colors that you would like them to be. You do not have to be careful about where the spray paint goes on the strips as seaweed comes in different colors and varieties to where the colors can be uneven.

If you enjoy my content, please consider becoming one of my patrons through Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/TheatreGeek where I will be sharing more in-depth content, answering your questions, sharing which types of software I use and how to find them, and more. By becoming my patron, you allow me to create more content about theatre and more theatrical content.

You can also give a one-time support by tipping at my my Ko-fi page. It is much appreciated and allows me to continue writing my blog instead of doing drudge work in order to make the little bit of money I can to afford to take time to write.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also a Wal-Mart affiliate and in the rare case I cannot find the product on Amazon, I can earn from those links. Please consider purchasing from my links as they help me to live and help me be able to write more content for you here.

Friday, December 13, 2019

How to Make a Crawfish Hole Out of Clay or Playdough - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

Sometimes you may be putting on a musical such as Oh, Jonah where you want parts of your set to look like they are in a wetland setting. Because of this, you may want to have some crawfish holes. It is easy to make crawfish holes with playdough or clay.

A crawfish hole

You will need the following items:

Playdough such as Play-Doh Modeling Compound 10-Pack or clay such as Natural Clay, 10 lb
Optional: Earth toned paints such as Jacquard Products Textile Color Paint Set, Earth Tones
Optional: Paintbrushes such as BOSOBO Paint Brushes Set, 2 Pack.

Crawfish live on every continent of the world, so there should be no worry about the location of your play. Fake crawfish holes are very easy to make.

If you are not going to paint your crawfish holes, choose the color of playdough that you are going to use. If you are using clay, it is probably already brown and it will stay that way unless you are going to have somebody fire it.
Once chooseing the playdough or clay that you are going to use, instead of making a mound, make small balls and ovals of different sizes.
Put these circles and balls in a circle with a diameter of 3"-5". Again, this does not have to be a perfect circle.
Stack the balls and ovals on top of each other, tapering them so that they get thinner towards the top.
Let the playdough or clay dry.
If the crawfish hole is the color that you want it to be, you are done.
If you used clay and are going to have somebody fire it, have somebody fire it once it is dry.
If the crawfish hole is not the color you would like it to be, paint it the color that you'd like.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

How to Make Black Coral Out of Expanding Spray Foam - Scenic Artists' Tips and Tricks

There are some sets, such as the one for Rainbow Fish Musical that require coral as set pieces. There are many types of coral and various ways to to make the different types of coral. This blog post is about making black coral with expanding spray foam.

A drawing of black coral

First, despite the name black coral, this coral comes is various colors. These colors include red, green, yellow, white, and brown. Sometimes black coral is black, but that is actually rare.

In order to make black color for the stage set, you are going to need the following:

Flat surfaces like scraps of cardboard or cardboard boxes. If you don't have any scrap cardboard, you can buy Corrugated Cardboard Sheets.
Wax paper such as Reynolds Cut-Rite Wax Paper.
Craft wire such as BENECREAT Aluminum Wire
Expanding spray foam insulation such as Great Stuff Gap Filler
Spray paint such as Moneysworth & Best Brillo Leather/Vinyl/Plastic Color Spray Dye/Paint 12 oz, Black

In order to make the black coral:

Prepare as many sheets of cardboard that you want as many pieces of coral. If you do not have enough cardboard for all of the coral that you want to make, you may need to make the coral in batches.
Line your pieces of cardboard with wax paper. It is probably best if it is wrapped around the cardboard so it can be taped to the back, but do what you can.
Lay the cardboard flat.
Use the craft wire to make a general outline of the way you would like your coral to point. You can make various paths with the wire. Use pictures of black coral to lay out wire patterns generally copying those patters. Make sure to leave at least a little bit of a stem made from wire at the bottom.
Spray the foam onto the wire, making sure to follow the patterns of the wires and not spray it in other directions. Stop spraying when moving the foam from one piece of wire to another piece. Do NOT spray any foam onto the stem you made with the wire.
Let the foam dry on the flat surfaces. DO NOT MOVE THE SURFACES WITH THE FOAM ON THEM.
While the foam is drying, you can choose the different colors of spray paint that you would like to paint each piece of coral.
Once the foam is dry, remove them from the wax paper.
Take the pieces of coral outside or to a well ventilated area and spray the spray paint on them until well covered on one side, making sure to get into all of the little cracks and crevices.
Let the paint dry.
Once the paint is dry, turn the coral decorations over.
Spray paint the backs of the coral with your colors of choice, making sure to get into any little cracks and crevices.
Let this paint dry.
Once dry, you should have coral that has a stem that can easily be stuck into cardboard or Styrofoam on the stage in order to add to the scenery.