by Ronna Sweeney, KUAM NewsMonday, March 17, 2008 Subscribe to Ronna's newsfeed
Coming up next month St. Anthony Catholic School students will be taking to the stage, putting on their own rendition of the Disney classic "Mulan". So as you can imagine, not only are rehearsals ongoing, but set building is also well underway in preparation for the big show. And the Tamuning school's art teachers show us how to not only build a set on a budget, but also how to build one that's earth-friendly.About six years ago art teacher Rowley Cepeda says they began looking for alternatives to pricey wooden and more traditional set making materials. He thought cardboard and Styrofoam would do the trick, so from donations made from local grocers like Cost-U-Less, the idea turned into a reality. "I saw them it's just outside and they're throwing it, and so I talked to them to see if we could have the materials to use for our art projects and that's how we started," he recalled.Once materials are obtained the art teachers do much of the set preparation design and execution. "So we start first with sketching and think first of the design. So we sketch and using the projector we enlarge it. That's how we do it," Cepeda said.Once drawn to scale, it's time to start carving the intricate designs. They note how easy the Styrofoam is to work with, being much easier and quicker to carve than wood would be. The next step is painting, which the art teachers tell us is one of the only major costs incurred when putting on theatrical productions. Cepeda says recycled items are used in more ways than just for set design, he tries to incorporate using items like old newspaper and tin cans into his art classes.And that helps to teach students the importance of reusing items most people think would be past their prime. "It is important. We should be aware of helping our community to recycle those things and I think it's high time to recycle," said Cepeda.Cepeda also notes that because sets are made up of the lighter recycled materials, it allows for quicker and easier scene changes.