Huck and Tom and the Mighty Mississippi

Children’s Theatre of Virginia and Virginia Repertory Theatre
Richmond, VA
Set Design by David Tousley

Based on the book series of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, this kids musical included two lobby vignettes to help draw the children into the show. The set started with map pieces hung up to the ceiling that were pulled down in the opening number and put into the box. There were also piles of books around the play area and large books with classic titles that had to be replicated onto the prop books. Many of the props had to come in and out of boxes and had to be sturdy. Some major projects included a frying pan with the remnants of a fish dinner that was pulled from a bag, numerous books and rough notebooks, and paint buckets and brushes. 

Huck and Tom Lobby Vignettes
This production included two lobby vignettes meant to draw the kids into the show and immerse them in the story. An extra crate was built for this purpose and items were sourced to help tell the story.

Painted book covers
This production of Huck and Tom and the Mighty Mississippi had large books in the back of the set with classic titles including The Adventure of Tom Sawyer and The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Because they also had the books as props, I painted the covers of two books to match the set.

Fish Dinner Scraps 
This was made for Huck and Tom and the Mighty Mississippi. It had to go in and out of a bag and stay intact. It is made of clay, fishing line, tissue paper, shellac and sculpt and coat.