Meet the Artisans Building the Sets for Our Upcoming Play
Before the lights rise at Teatre El Jardí, a different kind of performance is already underway backstage. Timber is measured, fabric is pinned, paint is mixed, and sketches are transformed into a world that will soon support the actors and the story. Set building is a practical craft, but it is also an act of imagination.
The scenery for our upcoming play is being shaped by a team of makers whose work often happens away from the applause. Their decisions influence how a performer moves, where the audience looks, and how quickly a scene can change. Every doorway, platform, texture, and prop has a purpose.
At Figueres a Escena, theatre is built through collaboration. The creative team, technical crew, performers, educators, and venue staff share the same goal: to make a live experience feel immediate and memorable. This is a closer look at the artisans helping to bring that experience into view.
From Sketches To A Living Space
The set begins as an idea. A director and designer consider the atmosphere of the play, while plans, reference images, colour samples, and rough models give the concept a physical direction. The design must express the story without competing with it.
A set builder then studies those ideas from a practical perspective. Can the structure be assembled safely? Will it fit through the venue doors? Can it withstand repeated performances? Is there enough room for performers, lighting equipment, and quick changes? These questions turn a beautiful drawing into a workable stage environment.
The best scenery answers both artistic and technical needs. A wall may need to look aged while remaining light enough to move. A staircase may suggest a grand interior but also provide secure footing. Each material is selected for what it communicates and how reliably it performs.
The Hands Behind The Craft
Carpenters give the set its structure. They cut, join, reinforce, and balance the elements that create levels, frames, platforms, and furniture. Their work demands accuracy because a small misalignment can affect the entire stage picture.
Painters and scenic finishers add the details that make constructed surfaces convincing. Through colour, layering, distressing, and texture, plain boards can become brick, stone, plaster, wood, or something more imaginative. Their craft creates the history of a place: marks on a wall can suggest years of use, while a carefully chosen colour can shift the emotional temperature of a scene.
Costume and prop makers may also contribute to the wider visual language. A chair, suitcase, sign, or hand-held object can connect the actors to the scenery and help define the world of the play. Behind every visible feature is someone who has considered its scale, weight, finish, and relationship to the performers.
Materials With A Second Life
Set construction is increasingly shaped by thoughtful material choices. Reclaimed timber, reusable flats, existing furniture, leftover paint, and adaptable hardware can all become part of a new design. Reuse does not mean sacrificing imagination; it often encourages the team to find unexpected solutions.
An old door may become a stage entrance, a table may be altered into a shop counter, or painted fabric may serve as a backdrop in a completely different setting. The marks of previous use can even add character. Scenery gains a patina and a sense of reality when materials carry traces of earlier stories.
This approach also supports the practical life of a cultural venue. A strong set can be repaired, reconfigured, stored, and used as a resource for future performances, workshops, or educational activities. The workshop is therefore a place where artistic invention and responsible production meet.
Crafting The Details Audiences Notice
Some theatrical details are immediately visible: a striking doorway, a bold colour scheme, or a large scenic structure. Others are discovered gradually. The grain of a painted floor, the shape of a window, or the contents of a shelf can make the stage feel inhabited.
Artisans work with the director and design team to decide what deserves attention. A set should guide the eye without explaining everything. A small object placed in the right position can reveal a character’s habits. A change in texture can distinguish one location from another. Even an apparently empty space may be carefully designed to create tension or openness.
The audience may never know who built a particular element, yet they experience the results through the actors’ movements and the rhythm of the scenes. Good stagecraft makes the world feel natural. It supports the story so effectively that its own effort becomes almost invisible.
| Craft Role | Main Contribution | What The Audience Experiences |
|---|---|---|
| Set carpenter | Builds frames, platforms, furniture, and structural elements | A safe and convincing physical world |
| Scenic painter | Adds colour, texture, ageing, and visual character | Surfaces that suggest history and atmosphere |
| Props maker | Creates or adapts objects used by performers | Details that reveal people and places |
| Technical crew | Installs, moves, and maintains the scenery | Smooth transitions and dependable performances |
| Designer and director | Shape the visual concept and its dramatic purpose | A unified stage language |
The Stage Is A Shared Workshop
Set building becomes most exciting when different skills meet. The carpenter may suggest a simpler construction method. The scenic painter may discover that a surface catches the light in an unexpected way. A performer may identify a movement that requires an adjustment to a platform or piece of furniture.
Rehearsals are essential to this process. A set that looks perfect on paper can behave differently once actors begin using it. The team observes entrances, exits, sightlines, scene changes, and the distance between performers. Small changes made in the workshop can make a major difference during a live performance.
That exchange reflects the wider spirit of Figueres a Escena, where performances, learning, and community activity share the same cultural landscape. The work on stage is connected to the people who maintain venues, lead workshops, welcome audiences, and create opportunities for artistic participation.
What Happens Before The Curtain Rises
In the final days before opening, the artisans’ work becomes closely connected to the technical operation of the venue. Set pieces are positioned, secured, labelled, and tested. Moving parts are checked repeatedly, while paint finishes are inspected under stage lighting rather than workshop light.
The technical team rehearses transitions so that scenery can change with precision. A silent shift between scenes may require careful choreography, clear communication, and a surprising amount of concentration. Every item has a place, and every person involved needs to know what happens next.
This preparation continues during the run. A loose fitting, worn edge, or damaged prop can affect a performance, so maintenance is part of the craft. The artisans’ contribution does not end when the set is installed; it continues through attention, repair, and readiness.
Bring The Story Into Focus
- Look closely at the scenery when you arrive: notice the textures, objects, and pathways built into the design.
- Follow the venue’s programme to discover theatre, music, dance, cinema, circus, and family events.
- Encourage young people to explore making and performing through ATEB’s theatre education activities.
- Share your response after the performance and recognise the creative work happening behind the scenes.
- Contact the team through the venue contact page for information about performances, activities, and cultural participation.
A play is carried by performers, but it is held by many hands. The artisans building this set are giving the story a place to live, creating a physical environment where movement, sound, light, and language can meet. When you take your seat at Teatre El Jardí, you will see more than scenery: you will see the result of care, skill, and collective imagination.
Join us for the upcoming performance and experience the finished world for yourself. Look beyond the curtain, notice the work embedded in every detail, and let the stage reveal what a community of makers can create together.