Halloween Backdrops in Theatre Productions
Ever wanted to get that ideal October feeling onto your stage? I will tell you how, using different decorations and styles you can achieve that. With Halloween fast on the way, I am sure many of you will be doing productions featuring the scary holiday. One of the first things you want to think about is the color of the backdrop.
Black is probably the most obvious choice, as it creates a Halloween feeling that will really bring the feel of October to your production. If the production features dungeons or castles, you could think about having some sort of chamber painted onto the backdrop. The colors for that could vary greatly, and is really up to you for what you decide. If you involve witches in your production you could have a purple sky, and have some trees as silhouettes, which would really set the mood. Think carefully about the color, as when you put other items on top of your backdrop it all needs to fit together well.
The next key thing you need to think about what items you put onto you backdrop. One of the main choices would be pumpkins. Pumpkins are traditionally a Halloween decoration and would help people looking at your stage to instantly recognize the time of season that it is. Pumpkins can be used with different types of play as well. They could be used as children’s play and appear friendly and warming to the audience, or if used in conjunction with a sinister creature, e.g. a witch they would create a dark and uncomfortable feel. Other items you could paint on could include old abandoned sheds and buildings, a graveyard of even a dark uninviting forest.
Cobwebs set a great atmosphere on your Halloween backdrop. Whether they are in the corners of the dark dungeon, or between the trees of the forest at night, they will help create a gloomy and scary backdrop. The cobweb could also be to only thing on the backdrop and could be the feature of the stage, or it could be just extra decoration to what you already have.
Another thing you need to think about would be weather you are having any characters painted onto the backdrop, for instance are you going to have witches painted flying though the air, or will you leave it to the actors to re-enact that for you. Will you have a spider in the cobweb on the backdrop, or have an actor depict that on stage. Things like that are important that you get right as it can make or break the whole play.
As you can see there is a lot to think about. Although it may seem hard work, once you get it all done it will be worth it as you will have a backdrop worth a million dollars. Remember to work well with the colors and think about which type of Halloween ornaments you want to include.
Black is probably the most obvious choice, as it creates a Halloween feeling that will really bring the feel of October to your production. If the production features dungeons or castles, you could think about having some sort of chamber painted onto the backdrop. The colors for that could vary greatly, and is really up to you for what you decide. If you involve witches in your production you could have a purple sky, and have some trees as silhouettes, which would really set the mood. Think carefully about the color, as when you put other items on top of your backdrop it all needs to fit together well.
The next key thing you need to think about what items you put onto you backdrop. One of the main choices would be pumpkins. Pumpkins are traditionally a Halloween decoration and would help people looking at your stage to instantly recognize the time of season that it is. Pumpkins can be used with different types of play as well. They could be used as children’s play and appear friendly and warming to the audience, or if used in conjunction with a sinister creature, e.g. a witch they would create a dark and uncomfortable feel. Other items you could paint on could include old abandoned sheds and buildings, a graveyard of even a dark uninviting forest.
Cobwebs set a great atmosphere on your Halloween backdrop. Whether they are in the corners of the dark dungeon, or between the trees of the forest at night, they will help create a gloomy and scary backdrop. The cobweb could also be to only thing on the backdrop and could be the feature of the stage, or it could be just extra decoration to what you already have.
Another thing you need to think about would be weather you are having any characters painted onto the backdrop, for instance are you going to have witches painted flying though the air, or will you leave it to the actors to re-enact that for you. Will you have a spider in the cobweb on the backdrop, or have an actor depict that on stage. Things like that are important that you get right as it can make or break the whole play.
As you can see there is a lot to think about. Although it may seem hard work, once you get it all done it will be worth it as you will have a backdrop worth a million dollars. Remember to work well with the colors and think about which type of Halloween ornaments you want to include.
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