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Photo Credit: Kate Hayter Photography
THREE SISTERS
THREE SISTERS
Fountain School of Performing Arts April 2025
Playwright: Anton Chekov
Director: Diego Matamoros
Assistant Director: Maggie Power
Costume and Set Designer: Tamara Marie Kucheran
Lighting Designer: Tegan Porter
Plum Branch Paravent
Plum Branch Paravent
Designer Tamara Marie-Kucheran wanted to bring the nature of rural Russia right into the parlour of Three Sisters. Chekhov's love and appreciation for nature can be seen clearly in many of his texts. For the piece that I created, was two three-piece paravents with plum branches filling the centre. This was a bit of a challenge as this particular build was very time consuming. Making two identical pieces of furniture meant that everything had to be in order. A lot of the build was prepping the frames to make sure the plum branches laid perfectly centre between all of them. The blood and sweat that went into this project was worth it because it creates such an eerie tone to the stage, having the light bleed through the woven branches.
Photo credit: Kate Hayter Photography
Framing
Framing
The frames of the paravents were built out of two sheets of plywood. for the arches I programmed the CNC to have a cleaner curve (and to save on time). The pieces were then doubled to have a stronger body and structure.
Construction
Construction
For assemblage and structure, The paravents were put together using dowels and woodglue for a seamless look. I drilled 96 dowel holes. In the end, it felt like building Ikea furniture with a lot more stability and reliability.
Painting
Painting
Frames were then painted to have a vintage worn look with a simple woodgrain.
Plum Branch Assembly
Plum Branch Assembly
The main feature of the Paravents were woven plum branches. Our Head Scenic Carpenter was able to prune one of his many plum trees which we used, alongside some leftover Birch branches. The branches were soaked for three days, then began the meticulous process of weaving. I was able to complete one paravent by myself, but needed the help of my props team to finish the second one to complete the symmetry. We first planned out where larger branches were to be set, then used a belt sander and sharp knives to whittle the ends down to a point to better jimmy into place. Once we had a bit of structure, we then began the task of weaving larger to smaller branches to fill gaps. Both floral wire and cotton string were used to hold more difficult branches in place. I then pruned the paravents, as to not puncture anyone when they moved from act to act.
Photo Credit: Kate Hayter Photography
OTHER BUILDS
Another build I was able to complete in a day, was a scaling up of a preexisting bench. In Three Sisters, there is a giant dinner scene and for everyone to fit around the table, a second bench was to be made, rather than to be sourced. I took the original bench of 2'5" and extended it to 5'. Made of plywood, I wanted the bench to have stability and a nice finish so it looked to be made out of pine. for the seat, I veneered the edges and sanded them down. It was then painted to mimic the original bench's woodgrain.
Original bench
Original bench contd.
Completed new bench expansion
Original on the left, my bench on the right
Photo credit: Kate Hayter Photography
Ivan Romanych Chebutykin's Newspaper
Photo credit: Kate Hayter Photography
Photo credit: Kate Hayter Photography
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