Scenic painting stage floor

[Jon Majors]

We're doing Wizard of Oz soon and painted a large tarp for munchkinland/OZ, and now have an opportunity to paint another tarp for the Kansas prairie scenes. Any inspirational photos or ideas for what to paint on that tarp? I think flat brown might look gross. The photos below are what we painted for Oz/munchkinland. The Kansas tarp will be 1/2 this size and only focus downstage center. Thanks in advance!

 

[TimMc]

Hi John-

Well... depending on what part of Kansas, flat and brown with some wheat or corn would be 'normal'; in other parts, there is water and green things like trees and hills.. and in between those is the Tall Grass Prairie.

I think taking a nod from the movie isn't a bad thing: Kansas was depicted in black and white (and not really artsy B&W at that) to represent the drudgery of Dorothy's existence down on the farm, and the colorful Oz was her escape. When she awakens, she's back in Kansas and monochrome. There's no small irony when she says "there's no place like home" after being in Munchkinland.

Think "sepia tone", maybe? Or pale, drab blues and browns, gray, weathered wood looks.

{unnecessary Kansas stuff}

The unofficial home of Dorothy (and presumably her little dog, too) is in Liberal, Kansas (a town mis-named if ever there's ever a town that was). Touristy things to distract visitors from the wafting odours of the feedlots and slaughterhouse. "Liberal - gateway to Hooker (Okla)."

 

[Amiers]

I think gross is exactly what you should be going for. As the transition from a bleak and dark Kansas is transformed into a colorful world of OZ.

 

[StradivariusBone]

You can always go bleak and drab and paint with light for the transition.

 

[macsound]

Is the production going for destaturation in the beginning? I might follow the color palette of the costumes if so.

 

[bobgaggle]

Hi John-

Kansas, flat and brown with some wheat or corn would be 'normal'; in other parts, there is water and green things like trees and hills.. and in between those is the Tall Grass Prairie.

Took the family on a road trip to Colorado this past summer, drove through Kansas and took a 3 hour detour so I could finally see some tall grass prairie. I was...disappointed. I was expecting to see the sunlight glinting and dancing along the tops of the grasses as the wind comes sweeping down the plain. I thought this was gonna be like the wheat fields in Gladiator. Drove right through that National Preserve not even realizing it was different from the rest of Kansas. Had to turn around and go back to make sure I didn't miss anything. Stopped at the visitor center to make sure I was in the right place. Not what I was expecting from the grand old stories and songs of wagon trains on the Oregon Trail.

Now the vast open vistas are pretty amazing to behold. Lots of people where I live on the East edge of this country like to s*** on the midwest and call them flyover states and say there's nothing there to see/do. But driving through South Dakota on the way out and Kansas on the way back gives you a lot of time to take in how insanely massive this country is and how much there is to see.

 

[Chase P.]

flat and brown with some wheat or corn

Not right for the Kansas scene, but doing a yellow brick road with herringbone ears of corn would be kinda fun. A nod to Dorothy’s origins, and Oz being her dream.

The Wikipedia page for Liberal, Kansas lists some attractions. Pancake Day, the Mid-America Air Museum, the Coronado Museum with Native American artifacts, etc.

Creating a giant “Visit Liberal” postcard as a floor cloth with all those attractions would be an idea. They’re not period accurate, I’m sure, but could be done in period style. One could sneak things like the Dorothy Gale house reproduction in there. Do the whole thing up in sepia tones, and it would mostly disappear from the audience, making it a fun Easter egg.

 

[TimMc]

Not right for the Kansas scene, but doing a yellow brick road with herringbone ears of corn would be kinda fun. A nod to Dorothy’s origins, and Oz being her dream.

The Wikipedia page for Liberal, Kansas lists some attractions. Pancake Day, the Mid-America Air Museum, the Coronado Museum with Native American artifacts, etc.

Creating a giant “Visit Liberal” postcard as a floor cloth with all those attractions would be an idea. They’re not period accurate, I’m sure, but could be done in period style. One could sneak things like the Dorothy Gale house reproduction in there. Do the whole thing up in sepia tones, and it would mostly disappear from the audience, making it a fun Easter egg.

Love it! If they do the "Visit Liberal", I hope they let the Chamber of Commerce know... a sly nod to small city in SW Kansas is very much an Easter egg for all.