Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061165
a two-tier wall of mirrors, drums, piano and a myriad of rehearsal platform steps and ramps. Rob Marshall brought the Art Department on early to create the various settings for his choreography. I always start with the story that each set needs to tell and then Rob starts describing the actions that might become part of the dance. Lin Manual Miranda plays a lamp lighter, so Rob worked props like his lamp lighter's ladder and bicycle into his number. Dancing with bikes? Why not! Gas street lamps with revolving platforms? Sounds great! Each set evolved through mood boards and a series of sketches that quickly become quarter-scale drawings, then foam core models, and end up as full-size rehearsal pieces. New ideas were constantly added, built as rehearsal pieces out of wood so they could be easily adapted. A staircase might start at ten steps, grow to twelve and end at nine as the choreography is developed. It is a real treat being involved with this organic process; being in a room with people singing, dancing and playing music is extraordinary! With rehearsals progressing, the sets for the musical numbers could start being constructed. Creating camera ready surfaces for the dancers can be quite tricky. Weeks of experimentation were needed to come up with paving stones for an abandoned park that could move safely with the dancers yet appear solid. (Polyurea resin was D E G D. FINISHED CHERRY LANE SET ON STAGE H AT SHEPPERTON STUDIOS. PHOTO BY LAURA NG. E. EMILY BLUNT AS MARY POPPINS AND LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA AS JACK IN A MUSICAL NUMBER WITH HIS BAND OF DANCING LAMP LIGHTERS. COURTESY OF WALT DISNEY STUDIOS. F. ABANDONED PARK. CONCEPT SKETCH BY TOM TAYLOR. G. ABANDONED PARK. ILLUSTRATION BY SIMON GUSTAFSSON. F