Sugarplum Season!

Do you remember back in May when I designed sets and props for a local ballet production of Alice in Wonderland? Well I've indulged in a bit of set-designing again, this time for Contra Costa Ballet's Story of the Nutcracker. They needed to replace an aging backdrop for Act Two and asked me to help.

This beloved long-running production is narrated and is geared toward small children. My challenges were to produce a design that melded with the existing design for Act One and all of the costumes as well as appeal to little kids.

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Here is my design at 1/4" to 1' scale.

Here is the actual drop in production.
The colors are more intense than in my painting, but the kids in the audience loved it. There were many oohs and ahhs when the curtain went up.

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The drop was 60'wide, too big to be painted on the stretchers, so it was done on the floor of one of the theaters.

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Here it is finished at dress rehearsal with the candy cane legs.The show was wonderful as always.

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And last but not least, here is my little sugarplum in a costume appearance for San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker at opening night. She's a student at the San Francisco Ballet School and was recently laid up with a stress fracture. She's back to work now and was eager to be a part of the show in whatever way she could. The highlight of her evening was when a little girl asked, "Are you a princess?" Her fellow dancer answered, "Yes. Yes, she is."

Do you have plans to see a traditional holiday show this season?

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