All construction, assembly, and painting of scenery or props must be approved before any work takes place. All related work must occur in designated build or paint spaces on campus or in otherwise authorized areas. Options for constructing, painting, and assembling scenery vary depending on performance venue. Owing to the logistics required to use these spaces and to transport scenery between them, students must coordinate all scenic needs with their UP technical director and are encouraged to employ minimal, stylized scenic designs.
When scenery construction is permitted, it must:
- Be built and installed so as to ensure safety of the cast, crew, and audience;
- Be built with proper supervision or training in effect;
- Be pre-approved by Undergraduate Production, following submission of a suitable plan that details construction methods, labor skills available, and materials to be used. Resources and skills must be compatible with the scale of the planned work;
- Occur only in an authorized work area with prior approval and appropriate supervision. Construction is prohibited in all other locations;
- Occur with students wearing all appropriate personal protective equipment (e.g., hard hats, safety glasses, gloves) as required by the work; and
- Be constructed in a safe and responsible manner.
The use of scenery in most college theaters is limited to hand props and furniture. Assembly may be done in the Off Broadway Theater, the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies black box, and Dramat spaces. Painting may be done in the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies, but not in the Off Broadway or any of the College Theaters.
UP offers a series of required workshops each year which are prerequisites for various types of production work. The unsupervised use of unapproved powered cutting tools is prohibited and is grounds for immediate termination of the production. The only power tools that are approved for unsupervised use are jig saws, hand-held drills, screw guns, and orbital sanders. Some of these tools require the EHS “buddy system.”
Be sure to discuss your design ideas with your Undergraduate Production Advisor as early as possible in the planning process.
