Working with “Glee” Live

We got another opportunity recently to work in conjunction with our sister company, Rent What?, and this was a particuarly fun project – the three-week, four city touring show of the hit Fox television series “Glee.”  This is a bit of a novelty for us – we work with music tours all the time, but most aren’t associated with a hit TV show!

This tour had a wealth of industry powerhitters working on the design and production of the show, including Butch Allen, Ray Woodbury and Peter Morse, so we knew from the start that it would be a great project to work on. 

The tour used a variety of custom stage curtains and set pieces to set the mood and highlight the performers.  One scene was highlighted by the use of the “Moulin Rouge” drape, part of Rent What’s “Timeless and Traditional” series (those of you who follow this blog know that I have posted on this drape on several occasions – it is amazing how versatile it is).

Sew What? got into the act as well.  In addition to a couple of 30′ h x 60′ w Double Kabukis (one in White Voile and the other in Black Poly Silk), Sew What? provided some fun custom stage set elements, including several “rock chic” tuck and roll “vintage amp covers” in a red glitter vinyl.

Unfortunately, the show is over – it opened in Phoenix on May 13th and finished up at Radio City Music Hall in New York City at the end of May – but based on the reviews, it sounds like it was a great show.  Let’s hope for another (and longer) tour in the future – we’d love to work on it again!

Want to read more about this project?  Click here.

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Monsters of Folk

Rent What? got a great compliment recently from Marc Janowitz, Production Designer / Lighting Director for the Monsters of Folk tour that I posted about in early November, so I just had to pass it on.

In Morgan Loven’s article, “Monsters of Folk: Lighting from the Bottom Up,”  in the January 2010 issue of PLSN (Projection, Lights and Staging News), Marc specifically thanked Megan for stepping in at the last minute and providing rental drapes to the tour.  Marc even said that the drape provided by Rent What? was “even cooler than the one I had originally envisioned.”

I don’t know what Marc originally envisioned, but I must agree that the contour curtain that Monsters of Folk rented from Rent What? is seriously cool – and Marc’s lighting design makes it even cooler!  Great work, Marc!

The entire article is quite interesting to read, as Marc describes the process of designing a production – check it out if you get the chance.

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Xmas Soft Goods for David Archuleta

Once again, both Sew What? and Rent What? were asked to provide soft goods to a single tour – David Archuleta’s Christmas 2009 tour - and I think this one turned out particularly great, as both companies thought “outside the box” to create some unique pieces for the show based on a fabulous set design created by Butch Allen.

Rent What? provided the drapery – in this case it included Gold Lightweight Synthetic Velour Legs and Swags from their “Timeless and Traditional” Series, all wrapped up with giant red and gold bows for a perfect Christmas presentation. 

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

What I think takes the drapery to another level, though,  is the incredible “twinkle-light” drape.  We’ve made traditional LED Star Drops before, but this drape was different .  For this drape, low resolution twinkle lights were inserted into a sheer white voile – the result is just gorgeous and reminds me of snow falling.

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

Sew What? also got in the act, making some gold satin skirts along with some fun three-dimensional Christmas Trees out of White Cambio! stretch fabric.  There were five trees, ranging in from 8′ to 16′ in height, and depending on how they were lit, they appear gold/white, blue/white, or green.  Here’s how they look in green:

Design: Butch Allen Designs; Photo Credit: Butch Allen

All in all, the combination of the beautiful drapery provided by Rent What? and the fun Christmas Trees provided by Sew What? sets the stage for a fun and festive holiday show.  Want to see more photos?  Check out the Concerts and Curtains Photostream on Flickr.

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Love those specialty drapes from Rent What?

Last month I posted about how beautiful Silver Satin is for lighting, and I mentioned in that post that we made a number of drapes in this fabric for our sister company, Rent What?  Well, Rent What? has recently upgraded their website, and there is some fantastic info there on the specialty drapes available for rent, including the Silver Satin Series.

The information that has been added to the website is terrific.  One upgrade that I particularly like is the addition of the Specialty Drapery Series page.  Not only are pictures included for each of the four specialty drapery series (Silver Satin, Rockin Red, Ivory Scene, and Industrial Textures – all manufactured by Sew What?), but there are even links to printable versions of the “Profiles” of each series.  These are great – not only informative, but well-designed and clever. 

They have also added a number of other products to their website, including LED drapes, Kabukis, traveller track, portable dressing rooms and much more.  Congrats to Megan and Marce (owners of Rent What?) for this impressive upgrade to their website.

If you are looking for stage or special event rentals, make sure you check out Rent What?  You won’t be disappointed. 

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Need a rental? Call Rent What?

In the last few years, we started hearing from a lot of our customers that they wished we offered soft goods for rent.  That way, they could maximize their budget – buy a few custom stage curtains and then also rent some of the pieces.  In July 2008, in answer to those requests, Rent What? Inc. was born.

Rent What? is a sister company to Sew What? (separate but equal I guess you could say ), owned & operated by Megan Duckett (Sew What? founder) and Marce Forrester.  Sew What? makes the drapes and then Rent What? rents them out.  It’s the best of both worlds.  Customers get the same high quality products as those bought directly from Sew What? but as a rental for the length of time needed – a week, a month, whatever.  When Rent What? first started out, the focus was on black masking drapes, but now they have built a stock of some absolutely gorgeous specialty drapes (pictures in a future post) as well as LED drapes.

So if you find yourself in need of a rental, give Rent What? a call – Marce & Megan would be glad to help you.

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