Atomic, so what am I thinking???

In my last post, I described the time period, a couple of key locations and the general aesthetic of my vision for the set of Atomic.  I also discussed that we would be placing the seating on both sides of a playing area that runs down the middle of the room.

I think that with this seating concept for the show, we will out the band against the opposite wall.  I should have about 17' between the two front rows facing each other.  The band is again 7 pieces, and if Scott lets them spread out across that wall, they should be able to fit in about 8' of depth.  One of the things that we have learned over the past couple of seasons that I have been designing at New Line, is that if we put some kind of hard screen low, like a modesty rail, between the band and the stage, it is easier to contain their sound and balance them with the cast.  The majority of the sound comes from guitar amps and the percussion. Most of those are within 3-feet of the floor.

For this show, I think that I will create an "industrial, 40's era, in-the-middle-of-the-NM-desert" wall in front of the band.  It will have a couple of big windows and a door with a glass window and a transom.  That should help set us in that new but temporary type building that the Army built for Los Alamos.  The windows are big enough that the band should still have decent visibility through them, but a low section of wall at the bottom will act as that screen, containing the sound.

For Kathleen's production of The Elephant Man last fall, I created a "floating ceiling of only beams to help bring the ceiling down and make Merrick appear more confined in his hospital environment.  After the show closed, I saved that ceiling and stored it.  I plan to install it in the Marcelle just a foot or two below the lighting grid.  This will put a "cap" on our interior lab space and bring the scale down to something more human.  It may pose a few minor lighting challenges, but it wasn't bad for Elephant Man and I don't see it being an issue for Atomic.

On either side of this ceiling, I want to hang (3) pendant lights with old-fashioned light bulbs in cages as practicals.  Again, they will bring the ceiling level down, and should really anchor the time period.









Fortunately, we do not need a bunch of furniture for this show. It would just get in the way.  There will be a long table running parallel to the audience under the ceiling.  I made a 6-foot table for Three Penny last year.  I am thinking about making a second one of those and putting them end for end. That way, Scott can split them and move them around if he chooses.

The final piece of this puzzle is the bar that Szilard frequents in a couple of scenes.  For this, I plan to build an 8-foot long, shallow back bar that looks very 1930's, loaded with period bottles and glasses, perhaps with some antique-looking liquor signs worked in. Then an 8-foot front bar to match, with 3 antique-style chrome bar stools.

I found the stools on eBay for $50 each and have them already.  They look great!  I think that I need a could of period light fixtures at the bar also as practicals.  I am toying with either a couple of sconces on the back bar, and/or school house lights hanging above the front bar.


Another feature that some old bars had was a bronze figure on the end of the bar with a globe on it.  If I can find the right sculpture/figure, that would look VERY cool.  More eBay shopping.

So, that is my set game plan for the show.  I have the big windows, the door, and the ceiling.  I need to build the wall that it fits in and figure out how to make it free-stand in front of the band.  Then I can turn my attention to a very detailed bar.  This week, we will begin pulling the pieces out of storage, repairing any damage and then build the wall...

More soon,
R