Set Design by Amy Camp

An early copy of the set design plans for the Spring production of Little Shop of Horrors.

In November, the director of Little Shop of Horrors reached out and we talked through their vision and requirements for the production, including must-haves and dreams. Our designer, Amy Camp, produced a mood board to present along with a preliminary set design which was iterated into a final to-scale design. I then sourced and ordered materials in which we took an active approach to minimise waste and buy materials that could be reused for future productions in line with the theatre green book. 

Once we finalised the set design, I presented a preliminary lighting design and a range of practicals to integrate into the set and a variety of colours were chosen to reflect the nature of Skid Row, where Little Shop of Horrors is set. This was also a fantastic opportunity to use the Mac Viper Performance fixtures supplied on a long-term hire as part of their lighting grid. They offer a range of flexibility and features that prove particularly useful when using lighting to compartmentalise a composite set.

Moving through January, we took delivery of the materials and began construction; as someone who is more versed in lighting, sound and video capacity was a fantastic learning experience and a great chance to challenge myself and improve my skills. The set quickly took shape and by the 8th of February, we started the fit-up over the half term. 

Once the core of the set was built and a few minor teething problems had been worked through, the students got involved in the plastering, painting and finishing touches of the set. It is always brilliant to see young people involved in a project which started my journey into technical production. 

The Audrey Two plants were hired from SceneTec, a friendly and nationally delivering set hire and build company.

The production has left a good stock of a variety of flats with brick and wallpaper textures on one side, and a second life as they are being double-skinned with the second side painted black in the weeks after the production to give them a higher versatility and usefulness going forwards.

Please enjoy a selection of the photos below from the production. If you have an upcoming production, live event or conference please get in touch to see what BG Productions can do for you. We offer dry hire through to full-scale production services.

Photos used with permission from TASIS England.

In true Ben fashion, I’m making this later than I planned to but alas here we are. I’m not entirely sure what this blog will be made up of, or how often I will post.

By trade, I am a freelance production and event manager, freelance lighting and sound designer and freelance technician currently based in Oxford. Honestly, I’m starting other creative endeavours as the live events space is suffering, which is a complete understatement. If you’re really interested in what is going on right now, I would check out the #WeMakeEvents movement. I do what I do because I love it, I find it really exciting and every day is completely different. There really is nothing quite like the thrill of running a live show, which is something I miss currently. 

So, what am I going to do here? There will probably be a fair share of a stream of consciousness writing in regards to all things theatre tech, fun projects, general ridiculousness and maybe even a little information about what my company BGP is doing. I’m also going to start uploading videos in regards to theatre and live events tech to YouTube as a personal project and something I think will be quite entertaining.

Thanks for checking this out, subscribe for updates and find out more about me and my company at www.bgproductions.org and www.bengordonportfolio.com.

See y’all soon!