Ethan Ruhl as the
IWU Theater Guild scenic Charge and Shop Carpenter

I enjoy working in the scene shop for the same reasons I love theater itself, because of  the team, the connections and the crafting. The fact that a group of people can come together and construct a world that began as an idea continues to thrill me. Seeing the set come together is a joy heightened by the fun and challenges in the process. Theater can only happen in community and, as the IWU scenic charge for the last three years, I have had the opportunity to partner with the crew to construct and paint a variety of sets and shows.
Set photos courtesy of Ryan Akers
Production photos courtesy of Glenn Devitt

Into the Woods - Set Design by Ryan Akers

Thirty foot Redwood tree bookshelves, tracking scenery, pop up houses, and pneumatic systems all built around a raised 18" deck, made Into the Woods the largest production process I've been a part of through its sheer scale. It was difficult to keep the process on schedule with so many new elements that we had never worked with before, but it all came together to form an incredible experience for the audiences.

Macbeth - Set Design by Dr. Steve Wood

Thanks to Banksy inspired graffiti, painted by Dr. Steve Wood, the witches were able to step from the wall as it burst into a neon glow with the help several blacklights.
Built on the Skeleton of The 39 Steps, this design allowed us to take base work and move further than I ever have before. Detail was critical to shape the urban street corner for Macbeth.  My job was to base the set as realistically as possible so that the graffiti could top it off. Painted concrete, rust and dirt took off the polish and set the stage for the gritty Shakespeare production. For the finishing touches we dressed the set with trash and leaves.

The 39 Steps - Set Design by Beverly Wagner and Courtney Westveer

Directed by Ethan Ruhl
A special audience entry point through the scene shop created an immersive experience for patrons of this show from the very beginning. Brick and woodwork made a reappearance in this heavily paint oriented design. Here the key was detail as the audience would be walking directly through the intimate set.
The set interior was crafted to be an old warehouse space and as such every detail had to be aged. Doors were rusted, lumber grayed, and floor stained all to draw the audience immersively into the scene

The Pirates Of Penzance - Set Design by Dr. Steve Wood

With Monty Python as the theme, The Pirates of Penzance filled the proscenium stage like a popup book. We in the shop built a large raked stage which cantilevered two feet over the orchestra pit. I also spent much of my time painting the ship and waves for the opening sequence.

A few tidbits showed up from the Love-Marriage Set like the foam carved cupid statue and the arched door.

Love Marriage and a Baby Carriage - Set Design by Ethan Ruhl

How do you fit four very different shows onto one stage? This was my challenge as the set designer for this piece, but much of the joy came from watching the whole "Italian Villa" appear  piece by piece. This show taught me how to paint marble and tile flooring and also included painting hundreds of Styrofoam cups red to use for the roofing tiles.

Freud's Last Session - Set Design by Kandra Johnson

Woodgrain and fake books. These are the aspects of scenic design that I learned while working on Freud's Last Session. The wooden bookshelves and each 'board' on the concrete floor were hand painted to give Freud's study its cozy feel.

South Pacific - Set Design by Dr. Steve Wood

South Pacific relied mostly on shifting wagons for the various scenes. The patio was hand-laid and stained. The furniture was created in the shop by bending layers of lauan over a frame. Working on South Pacific I learned aging techniques for set pieces like the shower and Bloody Mary's cart.

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Set Design by Ryan Akers

The fluid nature of the set for A Midsummer Night's dream used a remarkable amount of ingenuity to execute. From this project, I learned how to construct turn tables as well as how to manage irregular shapes in construction. The painting included lessons on highlights and texturing in ways that interact well with the lighting design.

The Guys - Set Design by Dr. Steve Wood

The Guys set, placed in an apartment in NYC right after 9/11, featured a cloud of ashen papers like those that blew about the city after the collapse of the twin towers. This production fascinated me with how light itself can paint the set.