OUTDOOR SETS - Third Week in August
 
Some amateur groups, particularly those with small stages and limited resources, are often wary of attempting plays with 'outdoor' sets. They could not be more wrong! 'Outdoor' sets are achievable by all and can actually be easier and more interesting to create than indoor ones.
 
Always remember, it doesn't matter how simple or sophisticated you make the set; ultimately you can transport your audience to any place that you want to take them by the action and dialogue of the play and the skills of your on-stage and off-stage teams.
 
Let's use 'THIRD WEEK IN AUGUST' as an example of how an outdoor set can be created. "A play set on a caravan site on our stage? You must be joking!" Well let's see how easy and effective it can actually be.
 
As you can see from the 'Third Week in August' set plan (link here), there are three main components of the set: Stage right is a caravan; stage left is the awning of another caravan; upstage is the sky, windbreaks and bushes. Let's take each of them in turn.
 
The caravan: Well yes, with a large enough space you could use a section of real caravan, but all you are actually trying to create is the impression of part of one side of a caravan with a door and window. The caravan shape can be quite easily created using a simple frame and hardboard facing. By raising this up above stage level by, say, 300mm you can create the impression of a gap underneath the caravan. Alternatively, take the 'caravan flat' right down to stage level, paint the bottom 300mm black and then screen it with overgrown grass, breeze block steps and camping paraphernalia; just make sure that your caravan door is raised up from the floor with a step beyond for your actors to step onto as they 'enter' the caravan. The area above your 'caravan' could either be blacked out or given a sky blue effect. As for the caravan door and window, these can be created using timber; alternatively, if you are a little more adventurous, you could try and borrow a real caravan door and window from a caravan stockist or breaker. These can easily be mounted on to your caravan flat. If you are very limited for space, forget about the window; the action doesn't actually require one. 
  
The caravan flat construction drawing (link here) gives a diagramatic impression of the above.

Alternatively, link here to see whether you may be able to borrow one of the excellent caravan flats already made by another group.
 
And that's the hardest part done; the rest is easy.
 
The awning: The impression of an awning, stage left, is very easily achieved. The simplest way is to use a section of a frame tent or one of those aluminium and canvas gazebos, some of which come with canvas sides. Just have as much of the structure protruding onto stage as you wish and support the un-erected part off-stage.
 
Sky, windbreak and bushes:  The sky effect can be achieved using a backdrop or a row of your normal flats painted blue. Paint more elaborate detail on them if you wish but it is not necessary. The windbreaks? Well, use real windbreaks bracketed to the stage. As for the bushes/foliage, you can use as much or as little as you wish. You may wish to use more if you want to hide a poor quality sky backdrop. You might want to use artificial plants but, if your production has a short run of a few nights, why not use real foliage from normal pruning operations? For example, leylandii off-cuts last well and can form a very effective screen.  
 
As for the rest, dress the set, create your lighting effects and there you have it; no more difficult or time-consuming than your normal 'box' set with three walls and a couple of doors but an awful lot more interesting for your set designers and builders and your audience.  
 
The picture below shows what can be achieved on a small stage with limited space by following these simple tips.