Productions and Projects 

Written and Directed by Kelly Harper

 Kent State University 

For this student ran, student-made production based on real stories about the menstrual cycle, I served as the Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager. My role was to write line notes, issue breaks, and run backstage during show times. Since it was a small team, I also wrote the lighting cue sheet. This was an amazing experience that was unfortunately interrupted by the pandemic, so the show needed to be postponed and performed virtually.  Regardless, this was a fulfilling and enlightening production for me!

Directed by Terri Kent 

Porthouse Theater 

In the summer of 2021, I was hired as a theatre technician for Porthouse. I was given an array of tasks such as scenic carpentry, scenic painting, and prop building. Above is an example of decking I needed to complete for the production of Quilters. Our goal was to make a rounded platform look like the flooring of an old home, which we achieved with plywood, wood glue, staples, and screws.

After the set was painted and in the space, the scenic designer decided that the whole set needed to be repainted a darker color. So, the paint charge and I created a stain that we sprayed across all of the set to make this happen. 

This was a very paint-heavy production for me. I contribute by painting the floors, platform, and wall flats. My focus was the stage right flat that I will showcase further below. I will admit, I am very proud of my work for this production!

I, along with another tech, was tasked to paint aged crossroads along the stage floor. The way we did this was very strange, yet effective. The method we used is called, "blocking" and it is exactly what it sounds like. We took 5-inch scaps of 2x4, dipped one of the faces in the paint, and lightly dragged it across the area that needed to be painted. We then touched up certain areas with a small paint brush so the shape of the crossroads was still authentic. 

This bench is made of wood, and I needed to make it looks like cement. For this, I based it in white first, then rolled jack sans on it with a paint roller. The method was also used for the flats, which also were supposed to look like concrete. I then rolled on a light gray base and added depth and aging with a dark and Payne's gray wash. The wash was applied with a sponge. 

Note that the jack sans needed to be lighter on the top so it was not uncomfortable for actors to sit and stand on the bench. 

After I used the jack sans method that was mentioned above, I needed to replicate spray-painted graffiti, without using actual spray paint. My method was very non-traditional because I was combining dry and wet blending together in order to create vibrant colors, but also to blend it all together. 

This Statue of Liberty Painting is some of my finest work! I exclusively wet-blended the colors, sometimes waiting for the first layer of paint to dry before applying more to add depth and shadow. We did not apply gray paint or jack sans to this area so it was easier to apply these more detailed areas in a more efficient way. So, in order to blend it with the rest of the flat, I used a sponge and applied the gray and black (the image was from before this application). They had to use a bamboo stick to paint most of this part of the flat since they were very large and not meant to be stood on.

Directed by Terri Kent

Porthouse Theatre 

The last show of the season was none other than the flashy and holy musical Altar Boyz. My role was to paint all of the platforms and everything metal. All that is metallic and silver was painted by myself, excluding the floor.