Brighton Beach Memoirs, 1992

Program Cover

Brighton Beach Memoirs was third play in our incredible 1991-92 season.

Each play was bigger and better than the last.

The design and production staff worked well together and we were lucky to have a great group of students in the technical area.

I looked back at the tech students we had then and many went on to work professionally in theatre.

The set was big and real.

We basically built a two story house onstage with a few modifications.

The walls were built with 2 x 4 and covered with lauan ply instead of sheetrock.

They became stud-wall legs.

The second floor was framed with 2 x 6 and was the largest “stress-skin” platform that I have ever used.

The base unit was 8’-0” x 16’-0” with supports only on three sides.

Other platforms were added over the kitchen and by the stairwell.

The 16’-0” downstage edge was open and unsupported.

Prior to the 1991-92 season we were still using traditional flats for most shows but after the season we rarely would use them again.

Traditional 1 x 3 canvas covered flats have become a thing of the past and building them has become a lost art.

We still have a few in canvas flats in stock and use them on occasion.

Thinking back over the last twenty-five or so years there are times I should have used traditional flats when  I needlessly used heavy hard-covered walls.

If you look at the one photo of the set under construction you can see the cables that we attached to the platform frame.

Simulating a crane, we used four cables on four different line sets to lift up the large and heavy platform into the air and then the walls were put in place underneath.

After the walls and platform were attached some wiring was done for ceiling lights and the ¾” plywood was added to the top of the frames and then the rest of the set added on.

Looking back at the photos I can see that the set was mostly new construction with the exception of the stair landing platform.

It was a an exciting time building such a big set with new techniques but having confidence the other production team members that we could do it.

The set for the final show of the season, Dracula, would push our collective skills even further.

updated 12/04/17