CREATING SCENERY ON A BUDGET

The following easy-to-find items can go a long way in the creative process for your sets-on-a-budget.

1. TRICOT -

inexpensive

comes in a wide variety of colors and sizes

takes light well

can be draped, hung in swags, stretched across a framework

makes a nice projection screen

2. SONOTUBE -

concrete forms

like a giant paper towel tube

6-36” in diameter

use to create columns or rings

also comes in shapes like squares or hexagons

use as supports for balconies

3. CORRUGATED METAL -

hung in sheets

cut into shapes

bent into columns

also available in fiberglass and PVC in colors including clear

4. PVC PIPE AND PIPE FITTINGS -

structures easily built and taken apart

not weight bearing

use to suspend lightweight items such as fabric, cardboard, foamboard, and small lighting instruments

can be heated and bent/curved

5. KEE KLAMP -

more expensive than PVC

designed to connect steel pipe

very strong

easily disassembled and reconfigured

large variety of sizes

will support scenery and people

www.keeklamp.com

www.grainger.com

6. PATIO UMBRELLA STANDS

hold 2” conduit

use for lighting bases, street signs, light poles

can be plain or decorative

7. STYROFOAM

create carved items, stone, and concrete

comes in 2 forms -

white beadboard -

can be glued, gouged, carved, and roughed up

pink/blue foam -

high density

can be worked like wood

create formed stone or lightweight moldings

a variety of thicknesses

can be sanded and painted

glue stacks, carve it, coat with glue-soaked fabric for walkable surfaces

can be melted if safety precautions are taken

8. WIRE

many types and sizes

best attribute is flexibility

Romex -

residential wire that comes on a spool

good for filigree or wrought iron

bare copper -

easily cut and joined together using wire ties, solder or hot glue

already has a great finish

use to make artwork, wire sculpture

often can be found by “dumpster diving” at a construction site

9. DRAINAGE PIPE

found in the garden section

sometimes called “tiling”

comes in black with holes punched in the sides

looks “techno”

joins similar to PVC

creates a very “mechanical” look on a set

light with a fluorescent fixture for lighting effects with fog or haze

10. PLASTIC WATER PIPE

in the plumbing section

clear and translucent white

flexible

mount on frame and use blacklite, resembles neon light

add neon dye and water and stop up tube for even more realistic neon light

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX WHEN DESIGNING YOUR SETS. NEW USES FOR EVERYDAY ITEMS ARE GOOD

FOR YOUR BUDGET AND FUN TO EXPERIMENT WITH!