This issue has…

• 🔨 The Best Shop In Town
  so much set building going on

• 💀 The Best Props In Town
  the props, omg the props

• 🌱 Plant Success
  not dying, thriving

FACILITIES

Our shop rocks

There’s lots to be proud of at the Phipps, especially when talking about the amazing facilities we enjoy. Today, I’m going to give you a little tour of our fantastic scene shop (we have one of the best in the entire TC metro 😎).

I hope Kassi doesn’t get grumpy with me for these photos — they’re in the process of taking down The Drowsy Chaperone, so the space is a little more cluttered than normal. Sorry, Kassi!

As you can see, the place is HUMONGOUS, and so well organized. Lots of things are saved from show to show, especially flats and other common items that tend to be used in most designs. This helps speed up the next build process because Kassi and the volunteer gang don’t have to keep building the same stuff over and over again.

It also helps the design process, as the scenic designer can put together a design based on what we already have saved in the shop. All of this not only saves time, but also money. Hooray for saving money!

We’ll also hold on to specialty scenic items that we could potentially reuse or even rent or lend to other theatre-producing organizations. We use something called Basecamp as a sort of “online catalog” so designers, potential renters, etc. can search our stock and find exactly what they want or need without traveling to Hudson. Convenient!

There’s lots more to it, but I’ll leave that to Phipps Community Day, when you can get an actual tour and chat with Kassi and crew about all that goes into making this space work. It’s truly incredible.

FACILITIES

Don’t count out the props

Just upstairs from the scene shop is prop storage, one of the coolest rooms at the Phipps. This is where we store all our theatrical props.

There’s a ton of random stuff in here, so organization is key. And once again, the Phipps team nails the organization part. Much like with our scenic elements, all our props are categorized on Basecamp for easy searching (example below 👇).

Sometimes a prop is so unique that you just have to make it. For the creation (and maintenance) of props, we have the prop shop.

Here, there are supplies, tools, and space needed to repair or create the props we might need for a production.

Prop storage and the prop shop are two more areas you’ll be able to tour during Phipps Community Day, so I won’t toss out any more spoilers. Swing by on April 26th to learn more.

👆
my favorite gallery piece of the week
This piece is digital photography called Abstract Iris, and it’s hanging out in the Atrium Gallery for the next couple of weeks. Check it out!

DEEP DESK DIVE

My peace lily is loving life

I’m taking a moment to brag about the condition of the peace lily in my office. Six blooms, people. SIX BLOOMS.

I can hear you already: “Ben. You need to relax about the peace lily.”

I will not relax and here’s why:
I’m not the best at keeping plants alive. When I was in college, I killed more bonsai trees than I care to admit. I’m essentially the John Wayne Gacy of bonsai trees.

So, whenever I’m caring for a plant, the ghosts of those dead bonsais haunt me. Will I take a long weekend and forget to water it? What if the soil is wrong? Will I over water this thing? AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

But so far (it’s been over a year now), this guy is THRIVING. Maybe I’m not as bad at this as I thought. 🙃 

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Talk to you next week!