outside
the box DESIGN/ TECH SOLUTIONS
Mirror, Mirror on the Set Which Is the Fairest Alternative to Standard Shrink Mirror Products?
b y F. R a n d y d e C e l l e
W
hen attempting to stage beloved Broadway favorites, producing
entities often face challenges because they lack the resources needed to recreate the iconic looks that audience members relish, such as the dance mirrors in A Chorus Line. For a 2017 production at the University of Alabama, our goal was to restage the original Broadway production, using periaktoi (three-sided rotating scenic flat units arranged in a line) to perform the majority of the work for supporting the play scenically.
This was not the Department of Theatre
and Dance’s first time producing A Chorus Line in its traditional form. Our 2004 production also used periaktoi. For that production, we created the mirrored sides of the three-sided units from Broadwaystyle flats, which we covered with the standard shrink mirror material found at theatrical production suppliers. These flats performed well and are still in our stock, Photos by Porfirio Solorzano
seeing use in a variety of shows. However, for our 2017 production, the design of the periaktoi was changing slightly, as the show had to tour and we felt our existing flats were a little worn. With the opportunity to create new mirror flats, I set out to find a different material for the mirror that would require less labor and be lower in cost than the traditional shrink mirror products. The process of creating them not only can be time-consuming, but also requires patience and a steady hand, especially for the 14-foot tall mirrors we needed. After
The mirrors in the 2017 (top) and 2004 (bottom) productions of A Chorus Line at the University of Alabama had very similar reflectivity and overall effectiveness onstage, despite the use of a less expensive material for the most recent production. Challenges to Address
1
form a 14-foot-tall by 26-foot wide mirror
Your mirror shouldn’t be too perfect.
wall, unless you want the audience to
One thing that many people do not
be watching itself throughout the show.
understand is that, when using mirrors
Mirrors also can be problematic for lighting
products, which are a form of polyester
onstage for scenery, you don’t want perfect
and scenery, because those parts of the
film.
mirrors, especially when collectively they
audience that look up at the mirrors may
researching alternatives, I focused on Mylar
6 x Southern Theatre x Summer 2019
