CREATE REUSE RECY(

Set decorator turns left-over set pieces into abstract wc

By MAX LECKIE

t Metro Theatre, a few

materials go a long way

thanks to a set decorator

who uses the left-over
set pieces of past plays to create
abstract paintings.

Tracy-Lynn Chernaske created
the Artful Theatre collection to
help fund the theatre after she
noticed how much material was
thrown out.

“I thought that’s such a shame
because there are beautiful things
that can be made out of those
things,” Chernaske said.

Metro Theatre, which is located
at 1370 Southwest Marine Dr., has
been in operation since the early
1960s and has faced many finan-
cial struggles in its half century of
operations.

The theatre supports itself mainly
through ticket sales and donations
from patrons, Alison Schamberger
president of the board of direc-
tors said, but those revenues aren't
enough.

“It does make it extremely hard to
maintain two buildings,” she said.

Besides the building on Marine
Drive, the theatre company also has

a second building, the Oak Street
Scene Shop at 8690 Oak St., where
most of the sets for Metro’s produc-
tions are created and stored. That’s
also where Chernaske’s main base
of operations was set up for creating
the artworks made entirely using
reclaimed materials from the sets of
former Metro Theatre productions.

The materials range from leftover
paint and extra lengths of plywood
to moulding, and even sawdust.

“A lot of the inspiration kind of
came from the colors or the shape of
the offcuts, looking at those pieces
and seeing something that wasn't
there yet,” Chernaske said.

In many theatre companies,
re-using materials is common
practice, said Debra Danny, whose
incharge of digital media at Metro.

“Tf we have leftover wood, we use
it for the next project,” said Danny.
“If we have leftover paint, we find
a way of mixing it with something
else so that it works for a project,
perhaps even a year down the line.”

Because the work done at the
theatre is broad in scope, every-
one juggles a few different jobs at
once, Chernaske said. She’s a prime
example: painting and decorating
sets, working in the box office and

ABOVE: Full Moon by Tracy-Lynn Chernaske. susMiTTED BY TRACY-LYNN CHERNASKE

BELOW: The set of Metro Theatre's most recent play, The Gazebo. max /ECKIE PHOTO

helping the publicity team.
“Everybody who does work here
kind of is willing to put in and do
a lot of work, which is awesome.”
In order to stay afloat, the theatre
also has a range of fundraisers like
the occasional garage sale to sell old
props and costumes, as
well as renting
the theatre
to other

compa-
nies in
between
seasons.
Volunteers who love what they

do, including the actors and direc-
tors, are also a big part of the cogs
that keep Metro running, Danny
said, putting in hours before and
after to get their productions going.
“They put in so many hours
into the show. You know, they
start rehearsing literally months
» before and the rehearsal
: schedule is at least
three days a week.”
Artists tend
to be pretty
. thrifty, and
have been
reusing
materials
for ages,
Cher-
naske
said,
and the
theatre is
no excep-
tion.
“T You
take] some-
thing that
already has char-
acter and you're just
making it a little bit better
or tailoring it or highlighting it,”
she said, “That’s what I love to do.”

CLOCKWISE: Chernaske and her dog Hudson in?
River which she created using paints and setpiec
from paints and materials from the play by the s
Yard. SUBMITTED BY TRACY-LYNN CHERNASKE

BELOW: close-up of the set of The Gazebo. MAX.