Brief: Design and build a stage set for The SpongeBob Musical. (Director Tyler Jensen)
Location: The North Canton Playhouse - North Canton, Ohio
Constraints: $0.00 budget and a four-person build team
Collaboration: Partner Project with Director Tyler Jensen, Build/Setup Aid from Sammy Kocher and Jeric Herstine
Patrick, SpongeBob, and Sandy posing in a corner of our set.
Conceptualizing:
I was brought on to help Director Tyler Jensen design and build a set for The SpongeBob Musical, a production put on by The North Canton Playhouse in July 2022. Because I had previously spent time at the theater as a Student Director and Stage Manager, I was familiar with the layout of the stage and its set capabilities.
Because the Playhouse was still in financial recovery from the pandemic, our goal was to spend as little money as possible. Everything had to be sourced from Playhouse storage.
I drew various concepts by taking inspiration from the Broadway production:
Build and Set Up:
With only five evenings to assemble the set, we got to work rooting through old set pieces from past productions of The Little Mermaid and Moana Jr. as well as fabric, spray paint, pool noodles, and various props that would fit the Bikini Bottom aesthetic.
Tyler and I hung large sheets of blue fabric around the borders of the stage to bring in more color. I tied them in different sections to add depth and texture. I was asked to avoid using any permanent adhesion, so everything is attached via knots and strategically placed paper clips.
We had access to a laser cutter, which we used to cut out large flowers from plastic cardboard to hang around the stage. We spray painted the flowers and several hula hoops different neon colors.
Sammy and Jeric (friends I brought in to help speed up the process) placed several pool noodles in a trash can and shaped them using a heat gun to resemble kelp. I also cut several into thin slices and strung them on fishing wire to make colorful chains.
Tyler and I strung everything up using a scissor lift and fishing wire. To pull the set into the audience, we used gaff tape to add a few flowers to the walls of the theater.
To fill in the gaps, we added in several props that were both "lost" human items or traditional undersea pieces, such as coral or clams, that would populate Bikini Bottom.
With the set complete, the cast was ready to bring it to life! Some shots of the stage before lighting and cast were added:
The set pre-performance (plus Tyler and I after the show!):
The set as it appeared in promotional photos on social media:
Summary:
This project was ridiculously fun. I grew up in this theater, so it was fun to come back as a designer on the production team, even if it was with short notice and full of little challenges. Not only were we unable to spend money, but we also faced also an incredibly tight deadline. I learned to work with whatever materials were available, and had fun getting creative as my resource pool quickly dried up (pun intended).
"I knew this was one of your schemes, you lousy- **dolphin noise**!"
"How dare you call me a **dolphin noise**!"
**More dolphin noises**
- Mr. Krabs and Plankton, The SpongeBob Musical
