SCOTT M. BOYLE
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove
University of MN Duluth
Dept. of Theatre
Scenic Design by Jenna Houck
Production Photos
Photo Credit; Joe Oliveri
Photos feature; Vanessa Barr, Elise Benson, Katelin Delorenzo, Emily Fletcher, Mikaela Kurpierz, Brittany Mingo, Sarah Rabe and Carla Weideman
Technical Challenge
Last Summer at Bluefish Cove had script requirements which pushed the limits of what we could do in the Dudley Experimental Theatre. The setting is a seaside cabin in a New England resort. So we had scenes which took place in the cabin as well as the beach on the shore. That puts two very dissimilar areas in very close proximity of each other due to the confines of the Dudley Theatre. As a KC/ACTF Participating show, we had to also think about designing the show with the possibility of touring - which, ultimately, happened. We even trucked the three 55 gallon barrels of sand which made up the beach.
Technical Ground Plan
The ground plan shows the close proximity of the set to the actors onstage. This means the level of detail on the set had to be extremely fine. The audience would be able to see every flaw - intended or not. This made for some fun material choices; sand on the beach, some real rocks, rough cut timbers as siding for the cabin, etc.
Stud Walls and Platforms
This drawing shows dashed lines which represent the stud walls and their relationship to the platforms which they are supporting. These stud walls are short and long making the whole deck easy to transport and assemble.
(click to enlarge)
Full Set shot
Cabin Walls
Wall units (or Flats) are usually built in easy to transport sizes as the build of the scenery and its installation happens in two different spaces. For this set I also had to think about how big I could build the walls and still be easy to load on a truck.
The side walls had the most "deconstructed" look to them which was harder to make into believable smaller units. Those were built as complete units while the kitchen wall was made up of narrower flats since I could hide seams with cabinets and appliances.