(SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG)
As many of you know, a few weeks ago, Evergreen Park Community High School put on a performance of The Play That Goes Wrong: High School Edition. The actors were all amazing in their roles. However, there was another element of the show that was almost as spectacular as the actors. It was the set of the show! Throughout the performance, many things fall off of the walls, a bookcase rotates, and the walls even fall! In this article, you’ll learn all about how the set for this show came to life
The Mantlepiece – This is the very first thing that “goes wrong” in the show. To make the mantle fall, it was placed on a piece of wood that acted as a lever. When the lever is pushed, it causes the other side of it to go up, which causes the mantle to fall.
The Doors – Multiple times throughout the performance, the doors get stuck, jammed, or even taken right off of the wall! The doors functioned as regular doors, but there were some special things about them. They were significantly lighter than a regular door, and they were completely removable, since the have to be “screwed off” the frame.
The Painting and Coat Hangers – During the pre show and during the show, the painting and coat hanger fall a number of times. To make this happen, both the painting and the coat hanger had a magnet on one side, while the other magnet was behind the set. When the backstage magnet was removed, that’s how the paintings and coat hanger fell.
The Bookcase – At one point, Perkins (Suzy Summers) has to hide Annie (Louise Brady) behind a bookcase. The bookcase opens and rotates so Annie can go behind it. The bookcase was on a swivel so it could rotate open. However, the swivel was built to only go halfway to add to the comedic effect of the bit
The Window Curtain – At the beginning of the second act, multiple things fall, including the rod that holds the curtains. To make these fall, there was a cord attached to a plank of wood that had the hooks for the rod attached. When pulled, the plank of wood turned and the rod fell off the hook. It was reset by just putting the rod back on and pushing the plank back into place.
The Walls – The walls were one of the biggest, loudest, and most challenging parts of the set to build. To keep them up, they were placed on hinges. To ensure that they would stay in place, clamps were put on the back. To make the walls fall, the clamps were removed and crew members stood behind them. A crew member gave a warning call, other crew members pushed the walls, and the walls fell and hit the stage!
If you’re looking to see another one of these amazing shows, come see Something Rotten! when it’s at EP February 16-18!
