We caught up with Misha Schmiedecke, the Props Designer from Dashing Through the Snow to ask about that incredible plate of chili cheese fries that Raynerd brings out in the last scene. As a devoted connoisseur of all things chili, cheese, and fried, we thought this plate looked good enough to eat.
ACT: So Misha - How did you do that?!
Misha: I have designed the props for three plays in a row since Honky Tonk Angels. But with all the plays I've done, this is my first time making fake food.
ACT: What materials did you use?
Misha: I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like but I was stumped about what material to use for fries until I read somewhere online about memory foam. It worked perfect. It was cheap and easy to cut. I angled the edges and cut them all different lengths and arranged the fries on the plate using glue to hold them down so I could spray paint the whole thing. The top of the mound and the inside of the mound are big blocks of foam to fill the space.
ACT: Are those real beans?
Photo by Ewa Skowska
Misha: Yes! Dried kidney beans! The chili was totally improvised. I bought a can of Hormel chili as inspiration and I pretty much tried to replicate the look from that. I thought glue and paint would be the way to go, and then I added dry rice and dry kidney beans for texture. Two failed mixings of glue and paint later, I finally got the right color and consistency. I spooned on the mixture to the top and then strategically spooned it so it looked like it was flowing down the fries. My husband shook his head at me when he found me studying the mound of chili and fries and saw that I was hand placing kidney beans and grains of rice. He asked "How far away is the audience?" I told him about 15 feet from the first row. Then he asked "How long are the fries going to be on stage?" I said, ".....about 30 seconds." He proceeded to tell me that no one was going to notice my extra kidney bean placement. But I couldn't help myself. I wanted them to look as real as possible!
ACT: And the cheese?
Misha: I started with paint and glue again but that didn't really work. It kept disappearing and being soaked up by the chili and the foam. I wanted it to be really cheesy looking and it was coming out almost clear. After the first layer dried I mixed up just paint (no glue) to match the color and touched it up by hand. It needed about 4 or 5 more touch ups before the cheese color was saturated enough. Spray gloss finished the whole thing off.
ACT: I don't know that I want to eat this anymore.
Misha: No, but as Raynerd would say, "BEHOLD! I bring you tidings of great joy! The chili cheese fries are done!"
ACT: Are you a chili cheese fry lover?
Misha: I tend to hold the chili - but there's nothing like nacho cheese! It's one of my favorite food groups. Goes good on ANYTHING!!
We're thrilled to have seen so many talented folks out for auditions for Chicago. We think we could have cast this show about 8 times over!
Chicago opens February 17, 2012 -
Rachelle Roberts is VELMA KELLY Liz Newchurch is ROXIE HART Andre Ellerby is BILLY FLYNN Janet Oliver is MAMA MORTON James Meador is AMOS HART Ruth Butler is MARY SUNSHINE
MALE CHORUS: Jacob Walas, Jonathan Milner, Brad Mercier, Alan Malpass Lyle Laney, Luke Dotson, Matt Harper
FEMALE CHORUS: Fleming Lomax, Jessica Hutchman, Rachel Gordon, Maddison Harris, Shannon Phillips
Exciting news! The 2010 WNC Parent Family Choice Awards were just announced, and ACT has been named "Most Family-Friendly Stage Theatre." We're thrilled to earn this award and would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote.
It's been 50 years since Johnny Haber started Tanglewood Theatre in his own backyard. To celebrate a half century of excellence in youth theatre, ACT is hosting a Tanglewood birthday Gala at The Venue in Asheville tonight at 5:00pm. The event is significantly cheaper than going to a movie (hint: it's free!) and will be much more fun. All Tanglewood alums (21 and older) are invited to attend this celebration. Meet the man who started it all (Yes, John will be there!), enjoy the festivities, then pop over to ACT for the Peter Pan premiere.
We open the new ACT blog on a Wednesday, and Wednesdays mean a Q & A session with one of the folks here at ACT -- staff member, show director, actor, volunteer -- who is making things happen at the theatre. Nope, we aren't trying to reproduce the Frost-Nixon interviews. These are breezy "get to know you" sessions. We toss softball questions and wait for home runs.
Susan Harper, ACT managing director, boldly volunteered to be our first interviewee. (How's that for leadership?) Susan came to ACT in the spring of 2003 and spent three year running the theatre. After a short stint away she returned as director this past July.
Susan has been busy preparing for Peter Pan, ACT's 2009-10 Mainstage premiere. But we caught up with her and promised a candy bar if she would answer our questions before the Wednesday Q & A deadline. She happily obliged:
So, how's it feel to be back at ACT?
Leaving ACT was a big mistake and I'm happy I was asked to return. It isn't often in life that you get to rectify a mistake.
What are some of your short and long terms goals for ACT? Our short term goal is to produce excellent theatre this year and balance our budget in a challenging economy. To produce excellent theatre, we put together artistic teams of the highest quality and support their work. We pay the directors and designers of our shows to make sure the quality is high but also to ensure that the volunteers (actors and production crew) have an absolutely stellar experience. To balance the budget we have to hit our ticket projections and keep expenses at or below our projections.
Long term, our goal is to secure this organization for the future with adequate facility reserves (to keep our building in good shape), cash reserves, and an appropriately sized endowment to provide us with earned income to support our work.
Tell us something special about ACT we may not know? ACT is the oldest continuously operating theatre in Asheville, and one of the oldest in the country. All of our actors are volunteers; they have day jobs like being a dentist or running a bed and breakfast, teaching school or working in a deli.
You've just stepped in as managing director, and you are about to put on the biggest show in ACT history. How's Peter Pan coming along? Peter Pan is a monster show! On every level. But director Jerry Crouch has it totally in hand and has made sure that it is a wonderful experience for all the actors. I'm very impressed with his work.
I know you were on the set painting last week. Is it safe to say you're a "hands on" director? Everyone here does what it takes to get the job done. Generally I work up front, but in a crunch I'm happy to pick up a paint brush.
How does ACT set its season performance lineup? We have an Artistic Selection Committee that meets in the fall to develop our season, both for the Mainstage and 35below.
You must have some history with acting/performing. Any good stories from your past? I was in a play in high school but have totally blocked the experience from my mind. I have no desire to be on stage. My job is to make sure others have that experience. But I did play the violin as a child and I thought I was quite good, but I've been told after the fact that I was quite horrible.
So we shouldn't expect to see you on the ACT Mainstage anytime soon? Diva*licious perhaps? You'll get all you want of me doing curtain speeches during the year. I guarantee you I won't be vying for time on the stage.
So, what type of candy bar to you want? A Milky Way!
(Coming tomorrow: A video sneak peak of Peter Pan, taken at Wednesday night's "Family and Friends" performance.)
