rec.arts.theatre.stagecraft

On Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:49:57 -0000, < @ > wrote:

> On Oct 16, 8:31 pm, drh wrote:
>> Hi! I'm looking for a simple method to create a fairly large 'sand
>> dune' - oval, about 20'x10', rising from stage floor to just under
>> 3'... and, of course, it needs to be walkable :-)
>
>> Does anyone have any experience trying to do the same type of
>> thing...? A different approach?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> David Hoare
>
> Long ago there was a technique mentioned in Theatre Crafts magazine
> where a university student (as I recall) built a grassy embankment
> for
> 'Key Exchange' (again, as I recall) by cutting sectional shapes from
> corregated cardboard and then placing them alongside each other
> with a frame along the bottom of the outside. The top of the
> embankment was then skinned with muslin (or canvas duck...) and
> had faux grass applied over that....
>
> It might take a fair amount of cardboard to accomplish but if you
> could
> make a connection with some industrial source who bales their boxes
> it might be do-able.
>
> -Carl-
>
>

The industrial solution is to mill it out of ply (or mdf for very short
term jobs, but given it costs little extra to mill the spare in the middle
away ply's far lighter), glue & staple it together & belt sand smooth.