Whether you’re building the sets for community theater or a pageant, you’ll need to build convincing representations of the settings depicted in the play. Set designers have used scene flats for hundreds of years because they can be moved, and can look realistic, so long as you can paint well. Scene flats are large, flat pieces of wood that stand upright, serving as scenery behind the characters in the play. They can be different sizes and shapes; the limit is your imagination and the needs of the story.
Instructions
1. Decide what size and shape your flat needs to be. If you’re making an onstage cloud that will be displayed beside dancing kindergartners, you probably will not want to make a 10’ by 10’ flat. Make your own rough blueprints for drawing measurements. You need pieces of plywood that will be big enough for the size of flat you want to make in addition to two-by-fours.
2. Use a power saw to cut the plywood to the size and shape you want. Most flats are simple rectangles, but after you have some practice, you can make them in any shape. Sand the sides of the plywood to make sure people don’t get splinters when moving the flat.
3. Nail the plywood to the two-by-fours that will support your flats. You should ring the edges of the plywood and also nail a two-by-four in the center of the structure for more support. Nail a ‘V’ together out of two- or three-foot sections of wood. These will hold your flats upright.
4. Stand your flat on its side and nail one of the supports to the bottom of the flat. The other side of the support should reach about halfway up the flat, and the support should allow the flat to stand at a 90-degree angle.
5. Flip the flat so you can add an identical support on the other side. Nail that in securely and test the flat. Make sure it’s solid enough that you don’t need to worry about it falling down in the middle of a performance.
6. Paint the flat to the requirements of the play in which you’re using it. The great advantage of stage flats is their flexibility. Use glossy acrylic paints in bright colors for a psychedelic, surreal look. Use flat-finish paint in darker, muted colors for more realistic results. When the play is over, you can paint the flat for the next show.
