Building Theater Sets: Benches
One of my current projects is as technical director and set designer for a production of “Angels Fall,” by Lanford Wilson. The show is being produced by the Theatre Forum at Church for All Nations, in New York City, and my wife Ellen is producing.
The Project: 6 Rustic Benches
My first construction project for this play is a set of 6 benches for the set. The director requested I make them first so the actors could get used to them during rehearsal. So, this past weekend, I sketched up my design and built 6 wooden benches.
The play takes place in a poor southwestern church. The director wanted something that looked like it was put together from leftover materials. I decided to use 2×10 floor joists as my primary material as scraps of these can be found on any timber frame construction site. The design consists of two 1.5″ uprights supporting a 4′ wide seat with triagular gussets at each joint for extra strength.
Overall, the design of the benches is very consistent with the type of benches that you might find in a location like the one described in the play. We bought four 12′ long 2″x10″ floor joists and had less than 11″ of scrap left when the benches were finished (Ellen helped me with the math on getting the most useable materials out of each board, as well as how to get each board cut down at the Home Depot so it would fit into our car.) We bought one box of screws and the last one I needed was also the last one in the box.
Finishing Work
All that remains for these benches is to sand down the rough spots and paint them. I’m going to use either a pickeling stain or milk paint to add a bit of color but let the grain show through and give them a weathered look. The stain and milk paint both have a flat finish with a chalky look that will make them look worn out and dull. After that I’ll rub them down strategically with a little dark paint to ‘dirty them up’ and let the director determine if they need any more ‘distressing.’
Counting the trip to Home Depot, I’ve got about 4 hours of work into this project and they turned out pretty nice! It will take another 3 hours to do the sanding and painting.
For more info on the play visit the Theater Forum webpage.
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