Engineers work with Artists on Shakespeare set

As the annual Shakespeare in Queens Park Festival draws closer, the stage and set are receiving their finishing touches.

This year's performance of Shakespeare's the Comedy of Errors is as much a show of creative talent as it is of engineering workmanship. The festival began in 2004 and this is the first year the USQ Engineering Workshop has manufactured the set and stage.

Set designer, Chris Willems, lectures in design and performance for stage and screen at USQ, and has been involved in the arts industry for many years. Chris has worked with La Boite Theatre, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and ABC television.

The collaboration between USQ's Department of Theatre and the Department of Engineering and Surveying has ensured that the challenging set design has become a reality.

"Shakespeare in the Park is a fabulous festival, however it is always a challenge to present a performance outside. Not only are we performing Shakespeare, but we run the risk of battling rain and the park environment itself presents a few challenges", Mr Willems said.

"Queens Park is a beautiful setting and I wanted to create a stage that would embrace the tree even more than previous years. This year it has been wonderful to incorporate engineering and surveying as there is a level of accuracy and skill that we have been able to utilise in the construction".

"Having a team of engineers and surveyors help build the stage and survey the area around the tree was wonderful, and I would like to see the relationship continue to develop".

The Comedy of Errors is said to be one of Shakespeare's earliest plays. The plot follows two sets of identical twins who were shipwrecked and separated at birth.

The stage has been designed to represent the skeleton of a boat, and has been built with reusable compartments.

"I wanted to ensure that all the work and time invested in the construction of the stage and set would not be redundant once the production was over. We built it in such a way that it could be configured differently, we wanted to maximise reusability", Mr Willems said.

Tickets are available from the Empire Theatre Box Office on 1300 655 299 or online at www.empiretheatre.com.au and cost: Adults $28.50, Concession $23, Child $11, Family $71.50 and Groups of 20 or more $21 each.

Media Contact: Connie-Louise Alexander 4631 2977, email alexandc@usq.edu.au