Customer Reviews

Small Stage Sets on Tour: A Practical Guide to Portable Stage Sets

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I purchased this book to add to my collection and found that it contained less information than one might find in a basic stagecraft book found at any college bookstore. It is my opinion that some of the staging ideas though sound if done properly could be hazardous otherwise. I suggest that if you are not experienced in stagecraft to purchase this book along with a companion stagecraft book and pull from both sources to design and build your show. There are some good suggestions for easy to move lightweight pageant grade sets and this source should not be overlooked. I simply sugest that you not use this as your only reference. To the experienced builder - skip this text all together the designs in the book are old and you most likely will kick your self and say I know how to put plywood platforms on sawhorses why did I buy this!.

I bought this book hoping to learn some new ways to build small touring sets. Unfortunately only the first couple of chapters were really applicable to my situation. Even then, the directions for building were sketchy for non-technical types of people. I guess that the diagrams will make sense to someone who is used to building sets, but I am not and the language used is too technical for me. I did get some nice ideas about using screens and blinds, though.

This guide included some very helpful material - I stage direct for a small college w/ a small budget and this book was extremely useful. I especially enjoyed the the set design for The Barber of Seville. From prompting ideas for small yet effective and efficient set designs to actual detailed structural integrity guidance, this book is a treasure for any performing arts organization. --Glay Marie Posch, Hou., TX