As finished, Eurydice pulled off the old concrete look pretty well.  Though not my problem (and not shown on this site) behind those elevator doors was a rain effect!  It looked kinda' cool, too.  ANYway, concrete columns.  To get the broken look, we talked foam.  For the bulk of the structure, we talked plywood.  That's what the were, under a coating of texture and multiple "agey" glazes. Oh! and brick up there on top, with a scrim mural to disguise a trick door.

     Following are images of the columns as they're made up in the shop.

     Above at left, the initial work was done with the always popular reciprocal saw, followed by my chipping away at the rough shape using the pointy end of the saw blade to achieve the shattered surface.  All of that was coated in carpenter's glue.  Why carpenter's glue?  Because it sticks to the foam, hardens to a paintable resin coating, and I can buy it at most any store that handles construction materials.

     When the glue was dry, or while the glue was drying, the unbroken surfaces were coated in a joint compound/white glue mixture that was applied to give the appearance of a flakey concrete.  Eventually it got primed, then the first of a few layers of paint.

     Happily, the students working on these took the direction well, so it wasn't "all me," though I did much of the "finishing."

     A close-up look at the brick topper with the scrim mural applied.  The trick door was stage left, and allowed for a character to appear as if by magic.  The gag almost worked.

    In the Middle of "The Season from Hell"

     Photos: R. Jake Wood