I have to go shopping today. It’s for work, so I can’t ditch my job to not shop. I have to get paint, glitter and fabric for a stage set. I’m not looking forward to going shopping, even though Home Depot has always been one of my favorites.
I’ve always liked doing stage sets with old objects or stuff from thrifts stores. When we first moved into our church building, we asked people to bring candles, any size, any type, but they had to be white or cream colored. I placed metal roof flashing around the edges of the stage, built candle risers out of scrap metal wall studs (I have a nice scar from that dumpster diving excursion) and placed over 500 candles around the stage.
No, it didn’t set off the fire alarms. I tested that before the services. It was beautiful after the candles were lit and the lights were all turned off.
The most fun set ever was for a series called Exposé. We used 23 vintage tube television sets, creating a large sculpture, with a few also on the edges of the stage. We ran 2 signals to the tv’s, the graphics coordinating with the screen graphics.
This was an effort of many people, Rod with a tv idea, Jerod and Bob for the wiring, Peter hanging the sign and Tony and I building most of it. This was 3.5 years ago, so if I missed anyone, please let me know. You can see all of the pics on flickr.
This set cost very little. The only new stuff purchased was the wiring for the tv’s, the Ikea lights and the metal grunge mesh panels around the tv sets. The tv sets were $10 each at the local thrift store, with the agreement that we donate them back when we’re done. A set to support people in need, gotta love that! Our budget was only $500, and although I don’t remember the final numbers, I do know we came in substantially under budget. We reused the metal mesh panels for a couple other series, but in different ways. We also used the Ikea light boxes for a few different events and series.
I guess I’m blogging this to show how old junk can make cool new stuff. I guess I’ll go get ready and shop now…