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Picture a scene of buzzing activity – people young and old working feverishly, in groups and independently. Tables and workbenches scattered here and there on top of which are piled an unlikely collection of materials – cardboard, fabric, chicken wire and pool noodles. Behind a screen, a woman in her sixties nods her head to snap a welding helmet down over her face. With a popping sound and blinding flame she joins a steel rod to what looks like a ten-foot tree, tortured and twisted by a storm.

Laughter and applause is heard from another corner as a mouth-watering triple layer cake is held aloft. Just outside this room in a much larger space, a line of students carry slabs of marble over their heads like leaf cutting ants to lay them down in a row on the floor. They move carefully around an instructor and several attentive participants, crouched over drafting paper - drawing, measuring and discussing the best way to convert a cylindrical cardboard shipping container into a wood stove.

 

You might guess that this scene with its cardboard stove, a cake made from styrofoam and caulking, Masonite marble and a chandelier built with plastic spoons, drinking cups and packing tape would find you in a Hollywood prop shop but in fact, if you are in Stratford, you wouldn't even have to leave town.

Located in the Factory163 building at 163 King Street in Stratford, the Desmond Heeley Theatre Production Arts Studio is home to Off The Wall, Stratford Artists Alliance. Originally founded in a modest workshop on York Street from an idea by Susan Starkweather and prop master Ken Dubblestyne, the workshop has been at its current location since 2005.

Instruction began with mask making and artistic welding. Incorporating as Off The Wall, Stratford Artists Alliance, a scholarship fund was soon established in an effort to make workshops available to everyone. This been the backbone of the OTW philosophy since its inception. As Michele Boniface, chairperson for OTW puts it, “Our goal is to create a centre of excellence in theatre production arts, to train the next generation of artists for theatre across Canada.”

Desmond Heeley – the celebrated, Tony Award nominated designer of many Stratford Festival and Broadway productions, and friend and mentor to Festival artists – conducted his first guest lecture and demonstration of 'Theatre Magic' in 2008. That same year OTW offered it's first two-week course called 'Setting The Scene' – constructing a set from design to display. The set, 'Miss Havisham's Wedding Feast', consisted of a lavish table setting with faux food and ornate decorations in an opulent room. Irene Miller of Irene Miller Photography photographed the setting. Her photo was purchased and used for the cover of a British publication of Great Expectations.

In 2010, fundraising began for a new production arts studio and full-time six-week program. Success resulted in 2011 with the ribbon cutting for the Desmond Heeley Theatre Production Arts Studio by then MPP, John Wilkinson. Typical of OTW, the unconventional ceremony featured an over-sized ribbon constructed of polished steel by Frank Holte, former head of Props for the Stratford Festival. The ribbon was cut using a plasma cutter by Mr. Wilkinson and Mayor Dan Mathieson.

Some workshop participants seem to be unlikely artists when they first arrive. Mr. Holte remembers, “I had a pig farmer in my course whose wife had given him the course as a Christmas gift. 'I don't know why' he said 'I don’t have an artistic bone in my body, but I can weld!!!' By the end of the course he had made a beautiful rose in steel. He was so proud of it he presented it to his wife. In the artistic welding course we take a piece of metal and give it, bend it, twist it, beat it, heat it and, in the end, make something amazing.You can learn a skill that allows you to turn metal into something practical or an art form. As an instructor, I love to pass on my knowledge and have fun as I still get a kick out of the students’ skills and reactions.”

Other instructors – many having worked for the Stratford Festival – bring years of experience and methods (sometimes reaching back centuries) to the table, providing a rich resource for those registering. Workshop participants come in from out-of-province and even out-of-country.

The strength of collaboration with the local community was realized in 2012 when OTW established a relationship with the Alternative Theatre Works, an independent theatre group started by Robert King and Peggy Coffey. Peggy explains: "We were thrilled when Off the Wall approached us last January to see if we had an upcoming production in the works. Alternative Theatre Works was in the process of putting together a very ambitious project that involved producing three one-act plays by Brian Friel. The challenge was to create a versatile set that would serve the needs of both organizations. It was a match made in theatre heaven. We benefited by being able to work on the beautiful sets, and Off the Wall students were able to see a professional company inhabit their sets for a 6 week run at Factory163. Working with them last year was a wonderful experience and the audiences thoroughly enjoyed the productions."

Vicky Gropp, a former OTW student, tells how she applied her learned skills to her career: “I found the six-week production/design program at OTW to be a valuable intensive program that incorporated many skills from drafting to designing and producing a set for "Prince Ivan and the Firebird." Lessons learned provided me with problem-solving abilities for my design work as a student at Towson University in Maryland. At OTW, I was instructed on how to make a marionette by using lightweight materials to form an armature of a wolf.  I have used this method to articulate a life-sized headless Macbeth for Towson University's production of Macbeth.I also used this method to construct a life-sized German Shepherd for a horror movie, The Bone Garden directed by Mike Gutridge. Welding experience with Frank Holte gave me the confidence to produce a large found-object sculpture for Towson's production Last Chance - Trash by David White. I believe if you can take one thing away from any course it is of great benefit. The various skills I learned at OTW have been proven valuable many times over. The instructors bring along an amazing wealth of knowledge and creativity to the table.”

Vicky Gropp went on to earn three University credits from the University of Maryland for her time at Off The Wall. Talks with a much closer University right here in Ontario may soon result in a credit being offered to students completing the courses at OTW.

Speaking of Macbeth, OTW and ATW are hosting an event called 'Macbeth: A Love Story' at 7 p.m. on Friday, February 15 at Factory163 that will feature performances and entertainment including sword dancers from the Sim School of Highland Dance, Barbara Fulton and Paul Shilton performing songs from Shakespeare and All That Jazz, a condensed reading of the Scottish play by a stellar cast, Macbeth haiku by Roy Lewis accompanied by Graham Hargrove, and a wicked dance party with music by DJ Wigs! Tickets are available at Revel Caffe, or at the door at Factory163 located at 163 King Street.

It looks as if only greater heights remain to be reached by the 'little workshop that could'. Antoni Cimolino, Stratford Festival's artistic director had this to say: “I can say with complete confidence that some of the world's finest designers and production artists have worked at the Stratford Festival and they are an important part of our legacy. I'm delighted that these individuals have a channel through Off The Wall to share their distinctive talents with individuals wishing to pursue a career in this exciting field.”

Workshops in 2013 include set construction, artistic welding, mask making, scenic painting, prop making, millinery and setting the scene. Summer courses start July 15 and run for six weeks. Fall weekend courses are also available. For complete information, go to stratfordoffthewall.com and get in on the magic behind the scenes.

Off the Wall, Stratford Artists Alliance

article by Kevin Kemp, photos by various photographers

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