A Window into Streetcar

This week, The Unfortunates goes into tech rehearsal.   The drops, scrims  and rear projection screens are hung, the bird is lit, the final rust has been added to the metal and char added to the wooden floor.  As we finish touching it up, Thayne and I head out the the warehouse to begin work on an enormous and highly detailed plexiglass window.   

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This awesome version of A Streetcar Named Desire is designed by our very own Associate Artistic Director, Christopher Acebo.  The set has an ultimately masculine feel, employing harsh angles and lighting effects, black rubber mats and expanded steel mesh. The featured element is a giant ornate window.  

The finished window will be 40' by 17' and is made up of ten individual panels connected together to create a huge window running from the top of the Kowalski's residence to the top of the procenium. The window will be decorated with the ornate design pictured right.  It provides partial privacy and partial translucency to the upstairs neighbors' residence as well as alludes to the high density of other people's homes and windows.  

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In order to achieve this effect, we used a video projector and laptop to project each panel's design on the plexiglass and trace the design on the paper covers with permanent markers. 

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Tracing the projection on the paper.  

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Next we cut out the designs with exacto knives.

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Leaving the negative space attached to the plexi, we can use it as a masking frisket.  

Next week, we will spray the windows with pneumatic sprayers.  When we are done, we'll remove the rest of the paper, leaving the painted design.  


Check back next week to see the completed window!

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