Built For Denver Center For The Performing Art’s Animal Crackers, 2014
Designed by: Vicki Smith
Built by: Justin Hicks, Mike Van Artsen, Katie Webster (Faux Marquetry)
Materials: Steel box tube, plywood, luan, MDF
Members of INCITE have had the pleasure of creating scenery for the DCPA for the last 10 years. Each show comes with it’s own set of challenges and interesting projects, and such was the case for their 2014 production of Animal Crackers, written by George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The set required a large curved stair case for a entrance. Due to the custom nature of the stairs’ shape and the need to match the curves of the floor, the wall, and the balcony, each step was built individually and welded together in series. The railing was hand bent to match the curve of the staircase. Also of note, was the faux marquetry created for the foot lights by Katie Webster. Marquetry is the craft of applying shaped wood veneer pieces to a surface to form decorative patterns. In this case, it was faked to save time and money, but the end product would never be identified as false. The show would go on to be nominated for a Colorado Theatre Guild Award for Outstanding Scenic Design 2014.
