Photo Albums

Assistant Professor of Theater, Scenic Designer, and Technical Director James Gross works with Tyler Swaim ’13 and Phillip Robbins ’13 on the set of last year's production of The Miser. Photographer Kim Johnson documented the building of the set. Excerpts from her notes begin here: 'I was impressed at the calm guidance James offered and the insistence that the young men do the work. It would no doubt go faster if he just barked orders and they obeyed but instead they talked through design, shared ideas, and worked as collaborators to get the job done.'

A feather duster on the props table. James says, 'We trace each prop with a Sharpee and label it so actors and prop masters will know if something is missing.'

My eyes were immediately drawn to the lines and spiral of the steps rising into a virtual nowhere; the rack of paintbrushes – some seemingly brand new, others obviously worn by use and stained from countless shows; the panels of bricks created on canvas but real enough to feel the mortar rough under my fingers. A T-square, a pile of markers, an old rusted and painted coffee can to catch-all. On stage, a bucket of screws systematically chaotic, a few haphazard pieces of furniture strewn about. A hammer, some empty pails, a nail gun piled on an extension cord, and a designer.

Tyler Swaim ’13 and James Gross

Back and forth to the stage for more placement, measuring, and marking. The men worked together to build a large compass using centerstage front as the fulcrum.

His work was quiet but deliberate. The pieces now, he told me, have been salvaged from old sets. Nothing new – yet. He methodically pieced together a large framework from the back. Reminds me of the inside of the barn (storage shed) we used to play in at home as kids. For what, I’m not sure. A window? A door? A screen? An arch maybe I heard him say?

James began clearing space in the middle of the room but one of the students asked to use the saw because he had never used it before. At James’ reminder the young man put on his safety glasses. The two worked to level the material and measured to ensure the cut line was on target. The young man completed the cut by himself with James within arms reach watching over the shoulder.

It’s beginning to look like something now. I can see the fireplace and the doors make sense but I’m still not sure about the large windows/doors on either side and the steps that lead up to them from behind on one side but drop off in front. Can’t be a door – unless those stairs have yet to be built.

James went to the side wall backstage lined with ropes, pulleys, and what I later learned were weights. Philip went downstairs (didn’t know there was one until then) and the two worked together to lower another bank (??) of lights into reach. The lighting design for this show has not been done by James – which is often the case – so the men are all following the blueprint sketch sent by the designer who will come from Indianapolis once the lights are set to dial them in and set the cues.

A table has been set halfway up the house with the light board. Looks like fun to play with – lots of levers and switches and monitors – and a cake – an angel food cake. Instead I just photographed it.

Eric Schilling ’13 works on the set.

Tyler Swaim ’13

James is on his knees adding shadow and lines to the wood paneling that looked complete two days ago but now I think, ya, now it’s complete. Before I leave he adds yet another touch to make it even more complete. It would have looked fine as it was before – and likely not a single person in the audience would have thought a second thing about it had he left if as it was – but that detail – that extra black line and the thin tan line next to it really made it pop. I would have never thought to add that simple detail. Yet James had tools to make it faster and straighter – no doubt having done this many times before.

Schilling does some detail work.

The lights that were being hung last time I was there are now glowing. The huge pieces of canvas that were once stretched over the bulk of the center section of seat to dry is now being ripped into large pieces and stapled over the majority of the wall sections. The bottom third of the walls are painted to look like wood paneling and the floor that was once completely black now looks like a floor made of large stone tiles. Beautiful – I would happily have a floor painted just like this in my house. The stairway looks nearly complete – the balusters are now topped with a banister.

With what appears to be the bulk of the framework up, large lights are now hanging on a rack center stage with other smaller lights dotting the mainstage and backstage alike. One young man is perched on top of a very tall ladder – taller than I would be comfortable climbing – with his head high enough in the rafters that all I see is his legs from behind the curtain when I walked in. He and James discuss the weight of the lights and where they will go – both in front of the set and behind – which I thought was odd – but what do I know. Up and down the ladder a handful of times, he moves the ladder to the other side and begins again.

Eric Schilling works on the lights.

Six hours till curtain—at the top of the house he surveyed the work. He turned out the house lights to survey again. He slowly descended the steps toward the stage.

James picked up a paintbrush out of one of the windows and seemingly discovered it had paint on it (when he accidently got paint on the wall). He carried the brush over and quickly dabbed the paint across the top of the fireplace – was that where he was heading before he picked up the paintbrush or did he just decide to use the paint that was on the brush when he discovered it was wet? Again – a detail I would have never noticed until it was there – then I thought, yup – better. He walked off the stage and up the side of the house rolling his shoulders and stretching his back – his hands on his hips and elbows back to work a kink out of his shoulder blades. He laughed as he noticed my camera watching him ache. At the top of the house he surveyed the work. He turned out the house lights to survey again. He slowly descended the steps toward the stage – picked up the cake now mostly gone and snacked as he stepped back to the stage. He gave a couple quick instructions and said, 'I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with that spot there.' After a couple suggestions the men all began to pick up their tools and get set for opening.