Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316563
where the story divides (from good magic to shadow magic), it really had to be something special. I wanted the space to refl ect the idea of centrifugal force when you picture an object internally combusting and the explosiveness of a fl ame to fi re. I started drawing circles and realized we had to build this classroom." In stark contrast to the UDM classroom, it had to ascend, so the cylinder classroom with it ascending ramp was born. The concentric circle concept for the Flare classroom came from a conversation we had with director Joe Nussbaum, about the idea that matter is always moving, that magic is trying to contain itself, and fi re is an energy the students are training to contain. The shape came directly from nature, and we wanted to show it visually. To build this set, construction coordinator Scott Wellenbrink took a very Leonardo da Vinci approach on how to project all the concentric lines. Assistant Art Director Peter Stratford drew an impressive set of drawings that should be framed in a museum, but this was only the beginning. Wellenbrink started with a slab of four-foot Styrofoam and slowly projected his cuts along a slow, concentric, ever-decreasing circumference until he reached the stage fl oor it was a marvel to behold. It felt as if he was sculpting a giant sea snail shell. The center of the set housed a large cylindrical post, which was pegged for each level with its corresponding altitude as it descended to the stage fl oor. A. FLARE CLASSROOM. FLOOR PLAN DRAWN BY PETER STRATFORD. B. FLARE CLASSROOM. SKETCHUP MODEL. C. FLARE CLASSROOM IN PROGRESS. D. FLARE CLASSROOM UNDER CONSTRUCTION. E. FLUXER CLASSROOM. PHOTOSHOP ILLUSTRATION BY BILL BOES OVER LOCATION PHOTO. F. SPOOKY GATE. EARLY CONCEPT ILLUSTRATION BY RICARDO SANDOVAL. A B C