#8 Producing: Creative Activities...Program Series

We’re back, gang, with another review of a book from the Creative Activities Dot-Dot-Dot Program series: Producing! Yes, we’re gonna learn all about “getting the show on the road.” That includes aspects including make-up, costumes, props, scenery, stages, special effects, the script, and the production itself. In other words, we shall discover how to put on the off-est Broadway production anyone’s ever seen. It’s an off-galaxy production.

#8 Producing

Make-Up

Once you’ve taken in that illustration of individuals diving into a pot of mysterious white goo and emerging as clowns, you’ll then learn the basics of make-up application, as well as how to turn yourself and others into

A baby
An elder
A bearded wizard (The author stresses the importance of ensuring the beard is secured: “The actor might forget his lines if he saw his mustache floating in the soup.” Where did this soup come from?)

A mime and a clown (Somehow there’s a difference.)

There’s a lot of pancake make-up application going on in this section and not a lot of LOLs. Still, we get this bit of sage wisdom: “If your dog recognizes you, you did a good job removing your makeup.”

Costumes

I admit I probably would’ve found this series exciting as a kid; I was all about making stuff. I’m sure this book in particular would’ve come in handy even when my friends and I were making home movies on breaks from college. I had a couple of boxes of props and costumes that we always raided for inspiration or to add a bit of lunacy to a scene.

This section in Producing is a mess of tips for getting costumes together. I’ve no idea how to summarize it when every paragraph is a new, separate idea. Broadly, readers learn to

See all the costume potential in old pajamas, curtains, and long underwear
Consider padding actors with socks and pillows to change their shape (We know all this from Drag Race!)
Make hats and crowns out of cardboard and felt
Create fake hair out of craft supplies (or a bald head from a swimming cap)
Make “a creature” (I don’t know, it involves wings and horns and more long underwear.)

*I don’t even know where to start with all this.*

Deliberate over color theory when creating costumes, which seems like an advanced concept after the last project ended with the instructions “Don’t eat anybody.”

Design chainmail armor out of soda tabs

In conclusion, the section’s standout line with no context: “Imagine losing your fat stomach in the middle of the play.”

Props

Though we had some props in our props-and-costume box (otherwise it would not be a props-and-costumes box), mostly we just grabbed whatever random stuff was around whoever’s house where we were filming our home movie. We never tried to hide that it was always an extremely low-budget affair.

This section teaches you how to actually try when it comes to finding and creating props. Like the last section, it opens with explaining how to view containers, shapes, and craft items as prop possibilities. It also shows how to accomplish the following:

Craft props that will make the actors look small (e.g., decorating a trash can to resemble a thimble)
Make street signs and cardboard-box skyscrapers to establish a city setting
Become an interior decorator with cardboard (Cardboard is the shining star of this section.)
Keep your props organized before, during, and after the show

The out-of-context line I must share: “Make a super needle.”

Scenery

Now that we have our props, we shall literally set the scene! This section in Producing instructs how to make the following sets:

Plane scenery (This is actually really cool and simple.)

*Yes, I like this idea so much I’m posting the instructions in full!*

Flat, cut-out scenes meant to be staggered in the background
A scene painted on a sheet that’s hung and stretched between two poles
A seascape complete with moving cardboard waves, a cardboard boat affixed to a rocking chair, and a pantyhose octopus

*The pantyhose octopus is ruining everything*

Reversible scenery (i.e., painting a scene on one side of a cardboard box [maybe “cardboard” should’ve been my SEO keyword], then turning it around to create another scene on the opposite side)

The ideas here were generally creative and effective (except for the pantyhose octopus) so I’ve nothing very snarky to say. I know: disappointing.

Stages

In addition to describing how to rig up a curtain, the section explains how to turn any place into a stage: an unused dock, a corner of a garden, a garage, a porch, a Greek theater setup with log seating, a box that you wear… Yes, it’s best if I just show you that last one.

*“Go slow so the audience can catch up to you*” *assumes a lot.*

Special Effects

As could be expected, Producing here demonstrates how to use lighting as well as sound and sight effects to bring your production to life. This is another section that’s just a riot of tips and tricks concerning testing different types of lamps, adding colored lighting, making a spotlight, and so on.

Following this are instructions on how to make sound effects for the following:

Rain
Thunder (“Shake your thunder maker gently for soft thunder. Shake it hard when you want thunder that roars.” Tee hee!)
Hoofbeats

Next, we get a tutorial on how to make these sight effects:

Snow
Wind
Rain
Lightning
A magic wall (I’ll preserve the secret magic of this wall and say only that involves more straw than you probably realized.)

I’ve got an out-of-context line for you: “Be a raindrop. Be thunder. Be a horse. Ride On!” Inspirational!

Scripts

After a summary of how to write “scripts from scraps” with other people, the book gives us a sample script called “Something Monstrous” that I’m skimming. It involves children whining for cookies the entirety of both Scenes 1 and 2 so I don’t think we’re missing out on anything.

The Production

And now for the finale! Here’s where we put it all together. There’s info on how to do the following:

Be the team captain, a.k.a., the director
Cast actors
Call and manage rehearsals
Find people to do makeup and make scenery and costumes
Deal with all the details of actually putting on the production (e.g., scheduling, advertising, and so on)
Take care of biz backstage

Then there’s info on how to make a Lurky, Murky Monster and Skinny, Scaly Beast (why wasn’t this in Costumes?) and create Turning Box Scenery (why wasn’t this in Scenery?). I’m so mad at the editors of this series.

*Just think: If you read this book, you could create this, whatever it is!*

And so concludes Producing, another unfocused, disorganized read in the Creative Activities…Program series! Next up: #9 Fooling! I saw a bit on X-ray vision when I flipped through it so I’m optimistic, but if the past few books have taught me anything, it’s that perhaps I shouldn’t be!

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