I find it most efficient to recycle old materials and use up stuff laying around the house when constructing something new. This cuts down on things sitting in storage and gives new life to something I may have been reluctant to get rid of but would never use the same way again. I often find exactly what need for for a new project among the detritus of old project pieces.
For example:
Here is the coral set from A Murmured Tale that served as the backdrop for the musicians.
This set sat around the warehouse for a while, and it has finally found it’s renewed purpose in The Ship of Fools.
First it had to be cut up into pieces…
Now it has become the mast of the Ship of Fools!
Another example of recycling old sets and costumes:
Here is the shrimp head from the first incarnation of, ‘A Murmured Tale‘ in Baltimore. It was made from cardboard and paper mache.
After being transported from Baltimore to Oakland, this piece needed serious repairs done for the next performance in San Francisco. After more paper mache was added in the repair process, it was too heavy to wear anymore, so I reconstructed the shrimp out of fabric and wire for lightness and comfort.
The original cardboard shrimp head was added onto and reborn as a strange creature who has participated in several of Chthonic Theater’s parades!
