SCOTT M. BOYLE
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Outside Mullingar
Peninsula Players Theatre
Scenic Design by Jack Magaw
Photos feature; Maggie Kettering, William Norris, Peggy Roeder and Jay Wittaker
Production Photos
photo credit; Scott Boyle
pictured; Bill Norris, Peggy Roeder and Maggie Kettering
pictured; Jay Whittaker and Maggie Kettering
pictured; Bill Norris and Jay Whittaker
pictured; Jay Whittaker and Maggie Kettering
Technical Challenge
Most of the action in "Outside Mullingar" takes place in the kitchens of two different households. Since the show is 90 minutes without an intermission, the scene shift between the two kitchens had to happen upstage of the show portal very quietly and quickly so the audience wouldn't be distracted.
As with all of the load-ins at Peninsula Players, assembly time is of the essence. So the wagons had to be assembled quickly and while carrying a substantial weight load.
Below you can find my drawings of the kitchen wagons and a video of the shift in action.
Construction Drawings
(Click image for larger detail)
Ground Plan
Deck Layout
The original idea was to have the two kitchens side by side in a line, also known as a "Slip Stage". Because of their size I was worried about the weight of the scenery being too much for the stagehands to push as well as having enough room in the wings. To me breaking the two units up made it easier to build, load into the space and operate. In the ground plan above you can see the position of the two kitchens in the later portion of the play. The first kitchen was pushed upstage while the second kitchen was pushed on from Stage Right.
Wagon Construction Drawing
Because the wagons were going to support the weight of the scenery of the kitchens as well as the weight of the actors, my initial thought was to construct each wagon in four parts out of steel. The size of box steel needed and available was greater than our little welder could handle, so I had to modify the design. I decided to construct more smaller wagons using a stressed skin panel design which locked together using coffin locks. This made the panels easier for the crew to handle during load-in which sped up our ability to get the scenery ready for rehearsal. As I point out on the Tin Woman page, this also made everything very quiet so the audience wasn't aware of the shift happening.
Scene Shift Video
This video was taken during a photo call as a result the shift is in reverse and not behind the closed portal.