SLEUTH _ Carpenter's Working Plans

I was very fortunate ( in point of fact "spoiled") to have as my set Carpenter STANLEY FOSTER. He had been with WCT for years and knew every piece of stock scenery and every inch of the performance venues. He could also build Anything with precision and great speed. If things ever came down to the wire on a production, which was just about always, it was never due to his work in any way.

Stanley's only requirement from me were a good clear set of Elevations, an accurately measured Groundplan and a detailed set of working drawings such as the ones shown above. As you can see these have done their time in the shop. I'm always amused at the profussion of coffee stains which seem to have made their way onto virtually every one of these drawings.

SLEUTH featured a complete Procenium constuction with 3' Finials framing the two story set. We also took a stock fireplace unit and overbuilt it into the Gothic monstrosity seen in the bottom photo. this fireplace wall had to be reinforced and back-braced for the pistol firing illusion that shocks the audience in ACT 1. As Wyke aims the gun and fires at a ceramic figure on the mantlepiece, the figure suddenly shatters and a bullethole appears in the masonry wall behind it. This is crucial to the plot as Wyke later turns what now seems to be a very loaded weapon at poor Milo.

 The ceramic figure had a wire running from it through the hole in the wall. At the exact moment of the gunshot a stagehand yanked the wire which slammed the figure against the wall, shattering it and revealing the hole. This always got a big reaction from the audience, but we needed about a dozen ceramics which didn't look too cheap or tacky to be on a mantle in Wyke's stately mansion!