Still Dreaming of a White Christmas
Props Master / Scenic Painter
November 2022 - December 2022
Our production of Still Dreaming of a White Christmas featured the iconic Sisters fans, and with our small budget, the only option was to create them.
The only requests I received were that they needed to match the color of the girl's dresses and that they were very large.
I began the process by taking two 24x16x19 shipping boxes and cutting them into the shape of a fan. I then painted them a shade of blue similar to the dresses to hide the wording on the box.
Once I had the cardboard bases done, I began on the feathers. To stay within budget, I purchased multiple bulk packages of white 10"-12" feathers and three different colors of Rit Dye.
After getting the dye to my desired shade, dyed all the feathers, then placed them in a mesh laundry bag so they can go into the dryer. When they came out of the dryer, I began the extremely tedious process of steaming and brushing each feather to restore them to their original fullness.
Once all 600 feathers were steamed and fluffed, I laid them out making sure the fluffiest ones were along the edges, then began to glue them down.
After they were used for the first time, the choreographer requested handles on the backside of each fan so they can be manipulated more easily. To accommodate this, I painted two strips of suede a pearl white color, then gorilla glued and stapled each strip to the fans.
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For the Number 'Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails' the director wanted to recreate the classic scene from Royal Wedding which features Fred Astaire dancing with a hat rack. The choreographer originally asked if the coat rack could have wheels added to it. Since the original base was marble, I decided to switch it to wood not only to better accommodate wheels but also for safety reasons. Once the new base was added the choreographer decided that she did not want the wheels anymore, and requested an additional rod be added.
To create the rod, I chose a thin PVC pipe and spray painted it to give it a metal look. I then drilled through the coat rack using a step bit, since the main support was also metal, then inserted the rod.
The show included the song 'la Vie en Rose', so the director wanted an Eiffel tower to show that we were in Paris. I freehanded the primary shape on a sheet of luan, cut it out, and painted it black. For the tower itself, I decided to use metallic silver paint which reflected light well.
Once the tower was painted, I drilled holes for the Christmas lights along the outer edge. I secured the lights using hot glue, then covered the back in fabric to hide the wires.
Ultimately, during our tech rehearsal, the lighting designer was unable to stop some of the lights from ghosting, so the director decided that he no longer wanted the Eiffel tower.
