I was extremely lucky during my practicum to be teaching Stagecraft and had the opportunity to participate in a Professional Development day with all the drama teachers from Vernon and Kelowna at the PowerHouse Theatre in Vernon. It was incredible to see Mr. Brotsky, the Set Designer and Construction Designer describe the process of putting a set together, from the timeline to the costumes, the material sourcing, the white model to the finishing touches, he was willing to walk us through all aspects of their current production of Little Shop of Horrors. Not only that, he also showed us his workshop and gave us time to get dirty and try out some of his recipes for things from fake foam bricks to fake pigeon poop. I asked the drama teachers how often they had a chance to get together and found out that I had happened upon a very rare occasion. They were all so busy running their own programs that they almost never had a chance to meet up and discuss what was happening in each of their schools.
Although I am not a drama teacher, the Stagecraft class and the Pro-D time I spent with the drama teachers was a rich source of inspiration for design. The details were brilliant, the consideration for what structures would enhance a production and what would make the actors’ work more challenging were all fascinating. The cross-overs between Visual Art and Theatre and made me hope for a chance to collaborate in the future.