This is UNCSA’s production of Dangerous Corner, directed by Carolin Cearley. I was on the set-building team for this production, and we constructed and assembled this set. I aided in the process of making the steel railing, building the walls, and assembling the bookshelves. It was a wonderful experience, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with my team.

Photo Credits: Wayne Reich

This is The Lyric Repertory Company’s production of Twelfth Night, directed by Paul T. Mitri. I worked with Lyric during the summer of 2023, on a small team of 5. We all worked diligently together to construct several different theater sets. Twelfth Night was the largest set we worked on, with two curved staircases, hand-painted border pieces, reflective paneling, and a large raised eight-foot tall platform with seashell banisters.

Photo Credits: Lucas Bybee

This is another production I worked on for the Lyric Repertory Company, titled One Man Two Guvnors, by Richard Bean, directed by Jay Stratton. I worked with the same team to build all of these irregular wall units, which were sixteen feet tall. At this theater, we interchanged this set with another twice a week. It was a large feat, but I learned quickly about the value of communication, clarity, and responsiveness.

During the process of building Dangerous Corner, we had to dry-fit and reconfigure things often. The three major points of focus were the two inset bookcases and the window. The image above shows us dry-fitting the wall units together before adding the bookcases and window. This was to ensure the walls didn’t yield any gaps and were structurally supported by the jacks before we sent everything to be painted.

These are the bones of the Twelfth Night set, without the luan or bendy ply attached. The large platform was built by making several smaller custom platforms and then attaching them to several tall leg units. These units then got attached together, cross-braced, and attached to the floor. The staircase was constructed by making 26 custom tread pieces and attaching them to another type of leg unit. The railings were constructed using a CNC machine (Computer Numerical Control) and were attached using bracing. To finish the set, each of the walls was coated with a reflective sheet and adhered with spray adhesive.

This is one of the wall units that I built for One Man Two Guvnors. This job gave me the insight I needed into becoming more comfortable with carpentry, and expanding my skillset