FAUST

The Wolf Trap Opera Company

Directed by Alison Moritz

Scenic Design:

Lawrence E. Moten

Lighting Design:

Collin K. Bills

Wig & Makeup Design:

Priscilla Bruce

Costume Design:

Lynly Saunders

Summer 2023, Technical Director

Lead Carpenter:

Anson Stevie

Faust is a dramatic French opera about the Devil and his innate ability to temp and ruin even those most holy. This was a very fun production to be apart of. Set in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Faust was a box set with a balcony and a runway that extended into the house of the theater. Coming directly on the Heels of Semele, it was refreshing to work on a show that allowed us to hone in on and refine the basics of our industry. Its simplicity allowed us to put extra care and effort into the set that really made it special. This stands as one of my favorite productions I’ve ever worked on.

This production had several sets of windows and doors.

First was a non-functional traditional paned window. This utilized half-lap joinery both on the casing as well as the mullions. There were five sets of full windows and matching custom shutters that opened during the run, and two sets that did not open thus were just casing and shutters. Creating 14 custom shutters from scrap MDF and Lauan was quite the labor intensive project, but a very effective one.

Next was two bay windows, these were essentially several overlapping Broadway flats. All windows utilized sheets of matte acrylic for their “glass”.

There were two types of doors. Five standard width single doors; and one double set of double doors, one standard paned door and one storm door. The casings for all the doors were constructed, but all the slabs were purchased hollow-core interior doors we cut into to frame a sheet of acrylic.

Below are some images from my AutoCAD model.

The runway into the house of the theater was a fun project. Utilizing simple wood platform construction on most elements, the biggest challenge was the house floor. Being in a historic barn, finding a perfectly level surface was few and far between. All the legs for the runway were cut and braced in space one-by-one to ensure level and stability.

We also made a plug to go over the open orchestra pit to actually allow access to the stage. This was 2x12 lumber on the outside and 2x4 on the inside. Decked in plexiglass and a fine metal grating to allow uplight from the pit. This was a fun exercise in retro-fitting things to an existing space.

Below are some images from my AutoCAD model.

The “balcony unit” was a classic example of theatre platforming. The wood platforms were supported on the onstage side by 1-1/2” SCH-40 pipe legs, utilizing the BMI Supply “Leg-a-Matic II” bracketing system on top and pipe flanges on the bottom. On the offstage side the platforms landed on a lower level of 2x4 stud-wall flats.

The trellis and staircase took inspiration from French Quarter architecture and thus were open steel construction filled with various cast iron filigree and decorations. Due to time constraints, my construction drawings were sent to another local shop for fabrication.

Below are some images from my AutoCAD model.

Below are some picture of my full AutoCAD construction model for Faust. The rest of the set was several Hollywood flats, and two Broadway masking flats cut to match the pitch of the roof.