Theater Set Design                                                                                                                                                              


The Sound of Music


This classic story of the von Trapp family has always been a favorite of mine since I was first introduced to it via the Julie Andrews & Christopher Plummer movie version in the ’60’s. The story, as usual,  required us to provide set scenes both fixed and moveable. Historically, the largest pieces become fixed, or stationary, with the smaller set pieces being moved about and the interior curtain closures hiding the large pieces. With a Mountain (“The Hills”) and the von Trapp mansion Living Room / Parlor scenes to dominate, there were now two very large pieces to navigate and design.


The Mountain became the fixed component, pushed to the rear of the stage with a mountain / sky scene drop behind. The Living Room / Parlor piece was to appear and disappear three times during the show. Composed of five pieces, it needed to be easy to move and assemble / disassemble by student stage crew members. Smaller pieces representing the Nuns’ Abbey and the Cathedral wedding scenes were also mobile. The crew did an amazing job working these pieces on cue, on time and silently as needed.


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              © DCL Architects 2016