A Christian Youth Theater group, where I volunteer my time, recently produced a version of “Phantom of the Opera.” As space is limited, we don't usually have the option of removing the larger set pieces from the stage, and thus need to look for more creative options to take an existing set and somehow transform it to look like another place. In the case of our recent Phantom production, we had two primary set locations—the main opera house, and the “Phantom's Lair” located far below the opera house.
One of the ideas we tried this time around was to use ultra-violet (UV) paint to bring out an element of eeriness in the set. UV paint comes in a couple main types—paint that shows its color both under regular and UV lighting but fluorescent (glows) under black light; and paint that looks off-white under regular light, but glows its real color when exposed to black light (often called invisible paint).
Rosco provided a few different colors for us to use in the production, including some deep blue, gold, red, and clear (i.e., invisible) blue. Theresa Abraham, our set designer for the production, used the UV paints to enhance the Phantom's Lair by accenting the organ pipes and rock walls. Gold and red were used to create lines of fire along the rock wall, and other designs were painted using the “invisible” blue paint to highlight the mortar of the rock wall. She also discovered that the UV paint could be used as a base coat underneath regular paint, and would glow through the other paint.
Using the paint was very easy—the only thing we wished we had was a user's guide that described how to use it effectively. But it was not hard to figure out, and it added a pretty amazing effect to the set design. To light the paint, we simply added a couple two-bulb fluorescent work light fixtures into the set with black light bulbs, positioned to wash the set pieces that had been treated with the UV paint.
While it worked great for the theatrical production, the paint could be used for regular church services to outline lettering on banners or backdrops to a sermon series, for example.
If you're looking to add some wow factor to your painted scenic elements, Rosco's UV paint is well worth looking at. The lighting fixtures we used were inexpensive, and can be found at any home improvement store. Rosco's standard UV paint sells for about $33 per quart. We discovered that a little goes a long way, so you don't need to cover a whole set piece in UV paint to obtain an eye-popping effect.
Do you have an innovative technical team? Has church recently come up with an innovative or inexpensive fix? If so, we want to hear about them. Send your successes to: editorial@churchproduction.com.
