Why is Lisa giving me the evil eye, you may ask. At yesterday's set work fest, we distressed the braces on the flats by dipping our hands in mud and rubbing them all over the wood. This was to make the flats look as if they've been "on the road" for a long time. Once four of our helpers caught splinters doing it this way, we graduated to brushing muddy brown paint (as Lisa is using in this picture) and then to dampened coffee grounds that we got by the bagful for free from Starbucks down the street. We also distressed the muslin for our tent flaps this way, and they are looking very well used at this point. Luckily, Mama Director was on hand to remove the splinters from the four afflicted workers--Kirsten (Jessie, age 10), Clancy (her sister, age 8, who would like to understudy every part in the show), Ramon (Tommy, age 21), and Sophia (ensemble, age 22). Everyone was very brave for the surgery, especially little Clancy, who was promised an extra special prize at the cast party for submitting to the needle, which she did and for which she was extremely pleased with herself!
