POLAROID STORIES

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro: School of Theatre

Directed by Donna Bradby

Scenic Design:

Caitlyn Baldwin

Lighting Design:

Haze Grissett

Sound Design:

Lane Palmer

Costume Design:

Ashley Niles

Spring 2021, Technical Director

Assistant Technical Director:

Austin Kendrick

Polaroid Stories is an abstract telling of Ovid’s Metamorphosis through the lens of homeless youth and their stories. This was an important production for me, as it was my last at UNCG. This also took place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic so it was important to conserve and be resourceful, and this idea became central to the design of the show. It is also important to note that towards the end of the build period, it was discovered that most of the scenery team had been second hand exposed to COVID and as such had to quarantine for tow weeks. Despite this, we still managed to finish build, and load in on schedule.

The first thing we decided to tackle for this production was a unit that came to be known as the “God Platform”. This was a tall platform that had a ladder on one side and escape stairs off the back. In an effort to save resources, this unit came primarily from stock. The handrails were made special for the show. Above are some process photos of the test fit in the shop. Below are some of my drafts for the unit, click to enlarge.

The next largest unit was the aptly named center stage platform and ramp. The platform was stock platforms and some custom built to make the final shape. The ramp was two custom builds and a stock platform. to achieve the fine point of the ramp, I cut the ribs on the CNC, framed them, and sanded the plywood lid to match. There was also a steel handrail we made, and a flat on the back that was repurposed from a production cancelled due to COVID-19.

There were several pieces of chain-link fence around the set. The chain-link itself was borrowed from a local theatre company, so we wanted to make sure to not make permanent alterations. Most of the units utilized a steel foot we made inserted into the standard fence post. One unit had to be climbable. I used 1-1/2” Sch40 pipe and speed rail connectors to build the structure