Magic table 3 - final

 Here I am, looking a bit glum, while painting in the stars and circles in the design on the blank canvas of the Magic table covering. This is a bit tedious and if you work at it too long a certain amount of dementia sets in, so frequent breaks are recommended.

 After the shapes are dry, the black wash of the background is added. I have never worked with professional theatrical scene paint. Pretty much always way too expensive! Nowadays you can have any color under the sun mixed at your local Home Depot for about 1/4 the price.

 I budgeted this entire set to be painted with just one quart of each color in my design palette. I buy a quart, and then thin it down by about 1/3 which renders a very usable color with good saturation. The flat black wash was thinned down to less than 1/2 the original mix. This renders a very fluid but unsaturated wash which drys in subtle shades of black and grey. I like the texture of the black which I can then manipulate by over painting in certain areas once the first wash is dry.

 The entire covering is now completely dry and finished except for the upper 3/4" which will be stitched to the Table Top piece. While it is still unpleated, I stitch the gold fringe trim to the bottom by hand.
I wanted a wider fringe trim, but that was just too expensive per yard, Outrageous, actually! So after much deliberation, I settled for this smaller fringe. It serves the purpose and I can live with it visually ( and price wise!)
 A Designer's life is so full of these little compromises!!

 And, finally, here is The Magic Table completed. It measures 38" tall by 24" wide at the base, and 18" round at the top. The painted canvas is artificially pleated and stapled in place top and bottom. It will never lose it's shape come wind or high weather! The rubber castors just beneath the fringe trim will allow it to glide silently into place on command during each performance.

And here is a detail of the Table Top, where all the "magic' will occur. Can you see the trick? It is part mechanical and part painted optical illusion. If you can't see it...GOOD! That is the intention, because of course it is a Magic Table!

I can tell you that the props and implements required to make the 5 minute Magic Act happen during  LILI have cost more than the entire set and puppet budget for the show. But if the Magic Act doesn't work, the whole show falls apart. This was the challenge I faced in adapting the film to the stage.

I believe I have come up with a novel and workable way of doing it, which you will just have to come out to the Hip Pocket Theatre this summer to find out!