This project was something a little bit different for us and as such, quite the treat to work on. We were approached by Uppingham School to produce a set for their production of DNA in Uppingham Theatre.
The brief was to create a single item of set that was flexible in its use, could become multiple locations and cleverly interacted with. Taking notes from the directors ideas, the set we designed features 2 floors with a transparent top floor for lighting purposes, sliding doors, ladders, guards and hooks for props, all while sitting on castors for easy movement. The structure was rotated by the cast during the show and while the structure was heavy, the structure was moveable by just a couple of people.
Having designed the overall shape and look of the project, our next step was creating a firm base for the structure to sit in. Knowing the structure was going to be heavy, we opted to build the base out of Litedeck 8ft x 4ft sections and welded some custom 150mm castors to legs to ensure we had strong enough wheels to not buckle.
The main structure itself is built from 4″ x 4″ pressure treated timber for structural rigidity but also to make the right aesthetics. Using 9″ roofing joists we created the horizontal joists to support the second floor, which was created through wire mesh to allow it to be both strong and see-through for lighting purposes. We also built a false floor on top of the staging decks to create a flat surface for acting on.
We fitted one side with 5 sliding doors of 8ft x 4ft in 3 tracks to add more visual elements to the truck and provide movement possibilities and more entrance/exit routes.
The set was primarily decorated and painted by the team at Uppingham and we left over timber and pallets to decorate the set as well as provide 2 vertical ladders for second storey access.
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