Now that’s how it’s done! Bob Schmidt, co-Founder and administrator of The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium came to us as an alternative to landfill while cleaning out the local theatre company’s set material inventory. He drove straight to us with parts of an older set that he hoped could be reused by artists.

These modular donated flats were designed to be backlit for the 2011 production The Empire Builders by Boris Vian. The production took place in Walnut Street Theatre’s studio 5, which is a challenging space to design for because all set pieces have to fit into the small elevator. So the set, designed by Meghan Jones, was built to come apart in pieces for the move and be put back together inside the theatre.  But Bob and the IRC crew didn’t just break them apart and toss them “away” once the curtain closed. The company held onto them since 2011, hoping to find a reuse for them. Once they had to clear out their inventory to make room for newer sets, though, Bob still didn’t want them to go to waste because he knew someone could reuse them in a creative way. Thanks to Bob and IRC, now we have them in our store!

photo by Johanna Austin

These stretched muslin set pieces that once made up the dramatic walls of The Empire Builders are perfect for artists looking to create on irregularly shaped canvases. They would also be neat objects to put back into performances because they were designed with light in mind. Since they were freestanding flats, we also have one stand and one whole wall that comes with a stand.

Super thanks to Bob and Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium for thinking about the impact of their set materials, and for being a great company to work with!