Le Petit Theatre & Setting up

Well, I’m back home in New Orleans, so how appropriate to find some news from here to write about, however unfortunate. I learned that Le Petite Theatre has had to lay off many of their workers. My grandmother used to take me here when I was a little girl. It’s where I saw my first production of Hans Christian Anderson’s, The Little Mermaid. I remember being completely captivated by the set design. Uh-oh, that may have been an early introduction to decorative painting. I later did a stint with set design — as a scenic painter at Arena Stage. I received a bunch of hands-on training there. I also learned that I didn’t want to work in that pressured environment, producing painting that was purely temporary and for show, however interesting it was. I learned a lot…

…Just as I’m learning a lot about what it takes to prepare for a trade show — our first exhibition — or in a sense, our own set production. My mother and I are assembling our booth this week for the New Orleans Home and Garden Show. My sister, Lindsey, arrives from Denver after the first day of the show this Thursday.  Before she arrives, we will construct the booth walls and assemble all the casart™ that will go in the Hot Lounge. One will be framed with rope lights, glowing on the back and hanging prominently behind the bar. Tomorrow we have to pick up flats. I’ve already sealed the black Insite demo boards after realizing our casart would be more repositionable and removable if the surface was semigloss rather than a flat finish. We’ll be down in the Superdome on Wednesday with my brother and helpers putting it all together. It’s turning into a collaborative family and friend affair. There are a lot of details to consider for what seems like we’re planning for a large party.  It is an exciting mad house.