TITANIC - THE MUSICAL: PROPS
Directed by Andrew Tribe, Grand Theatre, London, Ontario, 2019
Stewart Laing won a Tony award for best Scenic Design with his tilting and 3-story sets of the Titanic in the first production of this musical on Broadway.
In the Grand’s production, Andrew Tribe wanted to capture the diversity and the coming together of people from all different backgrounds. This was shown in the set, designed by Brian Dudkiewicz using a two-level set, constructed to appear as though it was mounted on suitcases and parcels that would have been on the ship.
The set centers around the luggage, which was carried onto the ship by the passengers during the embarkation scene, make up the background of the at-sea scenes and float during the sinking of the Titanic scenes.
Ship Plans: Researched deck and longitudinal blueprints were printed onto paper which was wood stained, crumpled and re-stained and rolled so that the plans were visible to the audience and actors. I made about 3 different plans for 11 performances.
Model Titanic Prop:
• the original ship plans were used to design the model of the Titanic to be used onstage.
• Foam blocks were cut, shaved and sanded to shape the body of the ship and top deck.
• Sawed pipes were uses for the steamers.
• the entire model was covered in cloth with watered down glue to make a smooth foundation to paint on.
Suitcases were constructed with plywood boxes, sanded smooth with rounded edges. First painted with a base coat then painted details like locks and closures. A final sponged-on light brown wash was used to create a worn leather effect. The hanging suitcases symbolized the progression of sinking Titanic.
