SCENIC ART

Item Description: 

A sampling of scenic art and props is displayed, including scenic elements specifically created for our production of Waitress. Scenic elements on display include a small version of the billboards seen onstage, samples of diner set pieces, sections of a faux wooden pylon and scrim fabric, and an example of the painting techniques used on the floor of the stage. Also on display are a pie prop and a recipe card-stand that contains examples of the different painting color combinations and techniques used in Waitress.    

About the Items: 

Pie Prop: There are three different types of pies seen onstage in Waitress: fully edible pies, fully fake pies, and hybrid pies that have fake bases and edible parts. The pie on display here is a fully fake pie made of plastic and resin. A fake pie like this would likely be used during parts of the show where the pie is onstage but doesn’t need to be eaten or during a musical number with a lot of dancing since those pies need to be sturdy enough to withstand the choreography for many performances.

Billboard Mock Up: The small billboard on display is a sample of the materials used to make the larger billboards seen in Waitress. The billboard is made with steel tubes which have been textured and painted to look like wood. The plywood rectangles have been spattered with the same paint colors used in the billboards onstage.   

Sample Diner Set Pieces: The curtain rod and gingham curtain are the same items you can see in the diner in our production of Waitress. There is also a sample of the green tufted bench cushions in the diner. The cushions are made of vinyl and stuffed with cushion foam.         

Wooden Pylon Sample: The cardboard tube on display has been painted and textured to look like a wooden pylon. Painting faux wood grain is an essential skill in any scenic artist’s tool belt. Scenic artists are regularly asked to paint wood grain in a myriad of colors and styles and on a myriad of surfaces. A common joke in the industry is “Can you paint this wood to look like wood?” The actual painting of wood grain is straightforward. It starts with a usually lighter wood tone base coat. Then using brushes cut and shaped by the scenic designer for woodgrain, glazes are applied to create the veins and knots in the grain.

Section of Scrim: Scrim is a painted mesh material used for backdrops and creating visual effects. When scrim material is lit from the front it’s opaque, but when it’s lit from behind it becomes transparent. This means that the scrim can be used as a surface for projections or to create shadow and silhouette effects. A scrim can also be used to hide an actor’s entrance until the right moment. Use the buttons mounted on the unit to switch lights on and off and explore how scrim works for yourself!

Recipe Card-Stand: This recipe card-stand does display recipes, but not the ones you might think! Each of the “recipe cards” on the stand show the paint colors used to make many of the scenic pieces in Waitress. By looking through the cards, you can see the combinations of paint colors used for different parts of the scenery and also get a sense of some of the techniques used to apply the paint. 

Floor Sample: The structure is painted using the same techniques and colors as we used to paint the floor of the stage for Waitress. The floor was painted black, then was spattered with tan, white, green, pink, and brown paint. 

You can access the names of The 5th’s production team members in your show program.