Hand-Painted Stage Highlights Cain Park Production

From Cain Park:Cain Park presents Ragtime the Musical to kick off its 81st season with one of the largest casts in a production in the Alma Theater. Not only has half of the Alma Theater been disassembled to create an in-the-round style theatre setting, the entire 38’x22’ stage was hand painted and installed just three days prior to the production of Ragtime. A project like this is not common in the local community theater, so we sat down with the Artistic Design team to see what a project like this entailed.

Our two artists: Brittany Ganser, a fresh BA Theatre Graduate from Baldwin Wallace, and Justine Schneider, a BFA Theatre Graduate from Marietta College.

What is your theatre art experience?

BG: I just received my BA in Theatre from Baldwin Wallace University this May. I have been working in their scene shop for the past year as a painter under mentorship of a wonderful Scenic Artist who works around the Cleveland area. I am also a studio artist which has helped form my craft as a Scenic Artist. After working as a painter on past shows at Cain Park, this is my first time working as the Scenic Artist on a production, which is super exciting.
JS: I received my BFA Theatre degree from Marietta College in 2013. During my time there I painted many of their sets and even had my hand in designing a few. Since graduating, I have been a professional freelance artist in the NE Ohio area painting for theatres such as Great Lakes, Dobama, CPH, and many others.

You’re painting this entire 38’x22’ stage by hand, yes?

BG: Yes, we painted the entire stage by hand! It’s not every day you’re lucky enough to get a canvas this big.
JS: Yes, the entire floor was painted by hand, down to all of the lettering!

Was the stage designed and then given to you to paint?

BG: I was given a paint elevation and color swatches of the floor from the designer. We talked about the overall feel, what he was going for and important elements in the design.
JS: The floor was designed by Trad Burns. Typically as scenic artists we receive the set design and paint elevations and work with the designer to achieve the desired look they want to achieve.

What kind of artistic freedom do you have when doing a project like this?

BG: When working on a floor mural like this, you have to follow the rendering as closely as possible. There is of course some interpretation due to the scale of the piece and how it will be seen by the audience such as angle and distance. So while I have to stick as close as possible to the rendering, how I get there and what techniques used is up to the Scenic Artist.
JS: It all depends on the designer! On this show, we had some freedom but mostly followed the design that Trad Burns gave us.
How many hours will this stage take the two of you to complete?

BG: It took us about 50 hours in about a week and a half to finish this floor.
JS: It took me roughly 60 hours, working alongside Brittany. Between the two of us I would say we put in about 110 or so hours of painting and a few outside of that discussing game plan and doing all the prep work.

What kind of experience is this for you? Is this something you get to do often?

BG: A lot of the work I have done in the past at Cain Park includes a lot of aging and texturing. You don’t always see designs this abstract and graphic and I think Trad’s design will be refreshing for Cain Park. Being able to work with text and bright colors has been a blast.
JS: As a freelance artist I've gotten the great opportunity to paint for many different theatres and designers over the years. Every set is different! That is one of the things I love the most about painting for theatres. This set in particular was unique because of all of the colors and lettering! More often than not I am painting wood to look like wood, so I enjoyed this change.

What did you get from doing a project like this that you can take to your next project?

BG: I learned to just go for it and trust yourself. Every project has a bit of trial and error but the biggest thing you need to do is take the risk and go for it.
JS: I feel like I grow as an artist with every set that I work on. This show was a challenge due to the time restraints we were under and the sheer complexity of the design! I feel much more confident in my ability to step up to a demanding design and know my limits after working on this show. I also got to work more on my calligraphy, which is always something I enjoy that I don't get to do enough!