NORFOLK, Neb. – Adam Peterson has a vision for how he wants the sets for the next Northeast/Norfolk Community Theatre musical to look.
It is up to the Northeast beginning building construction students, with guidance from their instructor, Ryan Hobza, to make it happen.
Peterson, a communications and theater instructor, is the scenic designer for “Company,” a musical that will be performed in October. Complicating matters, there are a lot of scene changes.
“We have four different rooms essentially that we have to represent,” Peterson said, “if you start combining the households of different couples. In fact, there’s a kitchen space that we have to use multiple times. What we’re going to do is a have a prominent piece of art on the wall that will change with each couple in a relatively neutral space.”
The play centers on a man who is turning 35 and questions why he didn’t marry. All his friends are married.
Rotating the set will allow actors to move from room to room during scenes.
There also is going to be a bit of a surprise for audiences that veteran designer Lonn Atwood is working on. Most of the scenes will originate from a deck that Northeast students constructed during their first week in school. Since then, they are putting together the rooms on top of it.
Peterson said Atwood has made some impressive sets over the years, including when Peterson was a Northeast student. That set was for “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
“He (Atwood) built a two-story rotating set that was just insane. I have to give a nod to him as inspiration for this (set),” Peterson said.
Ryan Hobza, building construction instructor, said Northeast construction students have been building the sets for the plays “four or five years.”
“What I have discovered over the years is that every set is different. They all have their own challenges. This one is maybe a little less total construction, but there are a lot of angles. We had to build the floor in an octagon shape to accommodate it.”
The construction of the set usually provides the students with a good start to gain skills for more projects as they get going into their college construction projects. Peterson said he appreciates the work of Hobza and his students. They have built many outstanding, memorable sets.
“There’s tons of critical thinking with this,” he said. “I like to give them challenges.”
Students involved in the construction of the set are Kip Graham, Norfolk; Tanner Kotalik, Yankton, S.D.; Kolton Lingenfelter, Norfolk; Waylon Mcbride, Sargent; Blake Nun, Geneva; Robert Pytlik, Brainard; Carter Ramaekers, Norfolk; Parker Strom, Battle Creek; Devin Wagner, Creighton; Isaac Whitmore, Shelby.
Libby McKay will return to her role as director for Company. Performances will be Thursday to Saturday, Oct. 3-5, and Oct. 10-12, starting at 7:30 p.m. each day. There will be a matinee on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 1:30 p.m.
Building the sets
Parker Strom of Battle Creek, a building construction student, cuts a 2 x 4 as other students look on outside of the Cox Activities Center. (Northeast Community College)
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