Sketch Up is a free 3d tool from Google - well, it is the free version of a $500 tool. It works well for what I want - a visualization tool, for playing with ideas and showing them to people. There’s been a number of times where this would have been very handy - and I’m glad this is now in my toolbox. I’ve used it on quite a few shows, now, and it is really handy to be able to show what you mean - to the director and to the cast and crew.

I have, just for giggles, created the last set I built in Sketch Up, as a practice exercise. This is the set for The Silver Whistle, the show put on by the Silver Stars. As part of KWLT’s community outreach, I ran their build crew. If you have Sketch Up (and if you don’t, it is, as I say, free), you can look at it here. If you just want to see what I built, here’s a picture - though it is much cooler when you can rotate it and walk through it. This set was designed by Brian Sheldon and constructed by yours truly and the KWSS build team.

I’ve produced some theatre components - flats, risers, that sort of thing, that you can use to produce set designs in Sketch-Up. The majority of the time for reproducing the Silver Whistle’s set was making these components, so next one will be faster.

I’ve just finished a model of the St Jacob’s Church Theatre in Sketch Up as well. Never been to the theatre? Here’s your virtual chance. I’ve got a picture, here and the Sketch-Up file here. The model is as accurate as memory and the diagram produced by Tim Jackson can make it - ie, not perfect, but pretty good. I’ve designed sets based on Tim’s diagram and had them work fine in the space, so using this model ought to be about the same. However, as the disclaimer below says, no warranties! Note - any errors in the model are probably mine, not Tim’s - he did a great job with the diagram.

To test my model of St Jacob’s Church Theatre, I rumaged and found the plans for Lion in Winter, which I TD’d there back in December. So, I’ve “built” the set in my virtual model and things work pretty much exactly as they did in reality, which is always cool to see. Picture. Sketch Up Model. Only took about half an hour to do - not too shabby!

And, my most recent effort, a model of the new theatre - the one that we’re rebuilding at 9 Princess St. The model is available, but I also did some views. They are fairly large jpgs, so be warned if you are on a slow connection. The theatre has no roof (in the model, that is), so you can see everything and for the same reason there are no doors in the openings. Looking down on the building. I colour coded all the rooms - yellow is the lobby, green is the green room, pink is the women’s washroom, blue is the men’s washroom, grey is the theatre space. The front view of the theatre, showing our property, our canopy and into the building. (Note - colours aren’t exact or final) looking through the front doors - the opening straight ahead will be double doors leading to the theatre space. To the left as you go in is the concession area, the green room door is out of sight to the right and ahead to the left is the opening to the hall to the washroom. The hint of pink you can see is the women’s washroom. Note the washrooms are only 8′ high, compared to 12.5′ for the rest of this section of the building. From the greenroom, ahead is the stairs down and door out to the stage. To the left is the door back out to the lobby. And last, from the audience area, looking up back towards the lobby. You can see the door to the greenroom on the left - where the actors will enter and exit. The platform by the stairs is a wheelchair viewing platform, making our space accessible.

I’ve updated the model to add lots of details. The model is above, but there’s a topdown view showing all the pretty details (sinks, toilets, counters, railings…) here.

Definitions

• Flat - a vertical piece of stage construction. Used to build walls. May be pierced for doors or windows or simply blank wall.
• Riser - a low platform, typical 4″ or 6″ high
• Platform - any platform higher then a riser. KWLT has two kits that will turn a riser into a 5′ platform
• Stage Jack - A brace used to keep a flat vertical
• Stage Weight - A weight, either a sandbag or lead or steel bars, used to hold a jack in place
• Box Set - A set that forms three sides of a room, with the audience looking in the fourth side. Common when a play takes place indoors, especially when the set is intended to be realistic

Construction Tips

1. Talk to the producer of the show before spending money!
2. If you plan on using KWLT stock (which is encouraged!), talk to the KWLT Tech Director. He’s at td @ kwlt . org - he can let you know what’s available, give information on how to do things and point you at other resources you may not be aware of.
3. When joining these elements (and custom made ones) into a set, use screws. The set will have to be struck when the run is over and screws allow you to reuse the items.
4. When a screw is present on a surface that will be painted, cover the screw with masking tape - when the set is struck, the screw head will not be full of paint
5. Where two flats meet, cover the seam with a strip of wide masking tape (as wide as you can find). When painted over, the seam will disappear. This is a cheap and easy version of ‘dutching’ the flats (the pros use torn paper/fabric and paste)
6. Use hinges to join flats together. Join them on the back whenever possible. Use short screws
7. Nails should only be used for permanent construction. Avoid them wherever possible. Screws are better - they are faster (given the universality of screw guns), stronger and they can be removed without damaging the flats or pieces, saving them for reuse.
8. Jacks can be attached to flats with hinges as well and are weighted in position with sandbags or other weights.
9. Take advantage of low pipes and attachment points to reinforce the set. Most of the theatres KWLT plays do not allow attaching anything to the floor. Be aware of this and plan accordingly. St Jacob’s Church Theatre, for instance, has a low pipe each side of the stage that can be attached to when doing a ‘box set’ - I generally run a short length of 2×4 from the furthest stage right/stage left flat up to it and attach using flexible metal tape
10. Before arriving in the theatre, plan out the set in as much detail as possible. Obtain a sketch of the theatre before hand. Have a plan and think through the plan, figuring out what should happen first. If you are running a build, people like knowing you already have it sorted out
11. Arrive with everything you’ll need - if you have a plan, you should be able to estimate materials pretty well. Pick up 5 or 6 extra 1×3s - at $1.76 each, that’s ten bucks well spent. If you have everything you need on site already AND you have a plan, tech weekend happens much faster and everyone is happier
12. Remember to schedule your time - set building isn’t the only thing happening on tech weekend. Lights may need to be hung or focussed, tech rehearsal or cue-to-cue may need to happen. Coordinate the tech weekend schedule with the tech director, the director, the lighting designer/electrician and the stage manager - and anyone else who might need access to the stage that weekend.
13. Before starting construction, start with a clear stage and use a tape measure to mark where set pieces will sit. This will probably be your last chance at having clear and easy measuring, so take a bit of extra time and get it right. Use masking tape or stage tape to mark the spots. Once the set is masked out, show the director, stage manager and tech director - this is a better time to find out that the plan won’t work then after things are up!
14. Of course, an even better time is well before tech weekend - get your plan on paper and get it to the rest of the creative crew! Check out the info on Sketch Up on the main theatre page on my website, to see another way to show a plan to the rest of the cast and crew.
15. When building your set, start with pieces that will self-support. If you have flats that form an angle, they are a good starting spot as once they are hinged together, they will stand upright.
16. If multiple pieces self-support and if you have enough people, start groups at different spots and have them work towards each other. In general, theatre sets are fairly light and a reasonable sized crew can move things so that they meet exactly
17. Use 1×3s (or 1×4s) for most elements of the set. You can cover a frame of 1×3s with luan (see the Build A Flat file) for a light, solid looking piece.
18. Only use 2x stock (2×4s, 2×6s, etc) for pieces that must support weight or has other strength requirements. 2x stock is heavier and more expensive then 1x stock

KWLT uses flats known as ‘hard’, ‘traditional’ flats. This means they are build with the lumber flat, not on edge (flats built with the lumber on edge are ‘hollywood’ style flats) and faced with luan plywood (flats built with muslin covers are called ’soft’ flats). Flats can be any dimension, but the standard for KWLT is 4′ wide by 8′ tall. We also stock 2′x8′ flats, as well as 4×8 flats pierced for doors and windows. KWLT flats are built using 1″x3″ material (sold as ’strapping’ in hardware stores). Pick straight pieces when purchasing the lumber. 1/4″ Luan plywood is used to face the flats. Some stores call this ‘doorskin’. Locally to KW, Swanson’s Home Hardware stocks this material. You will also need material to make corners and keystones/tabs - thin scrap ply, hardboard, I’ve used all of these.

Materials

To build a KWLT Style 4×8 Flat, you need :

• 2 Rails (bottom and top) * 1×3x4′
• 2 Stiles (sides) * 1×3x7′7″
• 1 Toggle (middle) * 1×3x3′7″
• 4 corner pieces * right angle triangle of scrap, cut 6″x6″ approx.
• 2 Tabs * rectangle of scrap, cut 4″ by 6″ approx.
• 1 cover 4′x8′ full sheet of 1/4″ luan

An ideal surface to build a flat on is a 4′x8′ table, such as one made with a pair of sawhorses and a 4×8 3/4″ plywood top. If that isn’t available, any large, flat surface will do.

Flats are held together with glue. The easiest way to clamp the wood in place is to use a pneumatic nailer/stapler and narrow crown staples. I own one of these, so that’s what I do. Small screws can be used instead, if necessary.

The Assembly
Lay out your 1/4″ luan. Start with a 4′ rail, cover one flat side with glue and lay this across the bottom of the luan, flat side down. Slide this edge of the laun off the edge of your work table and attach luan to rail, using either staples or small screws. Be careful not to break the laun, it is thin.

Cover one flat side of a stile with glue and put into place along one long edge of the luan. Attach as with the rail. Cover one side of a corner block with glue. Use the corner block to reinforce the join between the stile and the rail. Make sure that the corner block is at least 3/4″ from the outside edges of the flat. Attach with screws or staples, at least two into the rail and two into the stile.

Repeat for the other stile and the other rail, placing corner blocks at each corner.

Cover a flat side of the toggle with glue and place it in the middle of the luan, running from stile to stile. Cover a tab with glue and place it over the join between the stile and the toggle, making sure that the tab is at least 3/4″ from the edge of the flat. Attach with staples or screws, making sure there are two screws in the stile and three in the toggle. Repeat on the other side.

Wait for the glue to dry… and that’s all there is to it.

Note 1 : The sketchup file used to create the picture of the flat is available.

Note 2 : In traditional flat building, a shaped piece called a ‘keystone’ is used to attach the toggle on each side. A ‘tab’ works just as well and is a lot easier, so that’s what we do at KWLT, but if you want to use a keystone, you can.

Note 3 : Traditionally, the rail is always the full width of the plywood, with the style being cut to fit between the two rails. This is so that there is no joinery where the wood meets the stage floor. A few KWLT flats don’t follow this rule. You live, you learn.

Note 4 : Many of KWLT’s flats use 1×4 instead of 1×3 - either is fine. 1×3 is cheaper. If you use 1×4, you will need to adjust the toggle and stile lengths.