Root Ball Chandelier
As You Like It
by William Shakespeare
Ohio University Forum Theatre
March 2014
Scenic Design: C. David Russell
One of the main scenic elements in this production of As You Like It is a root ball that also acted as a chandelier. The props department built the wooden skeleton and filled out the branches with newspaper and masking tape. The scenic artists then finished filling out and shaping the root ball. Next, the texture on the trunk was created with a mixture of white glue, ball clay, and paint applied to strands of raffia grass. The texture applied on the roots was the mixture alone to create a smoother but cracked texture. Highlight, shadow, and color variations were then painted. LEDs embedded into the tip of each root tip would be turned on and changed colors for several scenes.
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