No Room at the Inn

I got up early to take Tim to work, then headed on up to church to start working on the Bethlehem scenery for our program tomorrow. My job was to make two doors in the front of our sanctuary look like doors to Inns. Joseph will walk back and forth tomorrow, asking for room at one of the inns, while a very pregnant Mary sits on a bench looking kind of sad because she might have to give birth in the street. Luckily, innkeeper Don will call them over and offer the stable to them for the night.

I started with brown packing paper and measured it out to fit our doors. Then I used a yardstick to measure out the bricks and marked them with a black marker.

Then I filled in every corner so the bricks aren't perfectly rectangle - these are old bricks from biblical times. I even broke a few corners and cracked some. And I put spots on them with the tip of the marker too.

Then I distressed them further with 3 different colors of brownish spray paint. (Leftover from project at church about 4 years ago - I am a pack rat!)

Here is one of the finished doors - the other side looks the same except I had to cut a square hole in my wall for the emergency fire pull. There were no fire pulls in the olden days! It kind of ruins the effect. Oh well, safety first.

I have to add a sign to the door that states "NO VACANCY" and then it will flip to say "HOME SWEET HOME". That's how the audience can tell that it's an Inn with no room or the home of Joseph and his wife Mary when the three Wise Men come to visit.

ps: I enjoy doing set design more than I enjoy music practice. Just thought you'd like to know. I had singing practice last night and today and I think that music people talk a different language.

"
sing from your diaphram" I need an anatomy book.

"we'll do this part in half time" hunh?

"whose got alto and whose got tenor?" All I know is Daddy sang bass, Momma sang tenor

"push your hand into your stomach, that will help you sing fuller" ok, but it's going to look peculiar!

"this song needs to be sung softer, but not quieter." hunh?

All I can say is I know how to shade a sphere.