Behind the Scenes

Over the last several months, there is one particular piece of fabric that has become an essential part of any night out or work attire: the mask. While the sight of a mask in public some time ago would have caused heads to turn, it is now a perfectly normal (and even encouraged) thing to see in public.

You’ll even get to see some masks in our show! Our characters, when hanging out at school, have to wear masks just like all the high school students in the province right now. Our costume designer Kaelen MacDonald specifically chose the design of each mask to fit the character’s aesthetic, but none has the dreadful presence of the plague Doctor mask worn by Aquila Wibisono.

(All pictures taken by Ryan Rafuse during various stages of the mask construction)

Coming straight out of the 17th century, the mask was built by prop builder Ryan Rafuse. As it is the teens that tell the story of what happened in Concord Floral, the mask had to be made from materials one could find around the house. The cardboard was cut out from amazon boxes, and the eye covering comes from page protectors. Great quantities of hot glue and tape holds it all together. About making a plague doctor mask during a pandemic, he said: “It was definitely ironic! I'm just thankful we don't have to wear that type of mask; today's cloth masks are much more comfortable.” He added that he was very tempted to wear it at the store to see how people would react.

But we shouldn't forget that the mask that we are wearing today can claim this strange device as a distant ancestor. While the greatest outbreak of the plague went from 1346 to 1353, the costume of the plague doctor and the mask did not appear until the 1600s. The iconic mask was made of leather and its birdlike beak contained spices and perfumes that were meant to protect the doctor from the plague. It was an early example of personal protective equipment, just as doctors and nurses now wear medical gowns and masks to treat patients.

The plague, the doctors, and those birdlike masks feel strangely relevant today, as the world is still in the midst of a pandemic. It felt especially close since Concord Floral is so intertwined with the themes of sickness and plague. But the current events and the content of the play gave the cast and crew a well of inspiration to draw from and led to many creative offers and suggestions. Rafuse’s mask is just one of many. In fact, there are several things that came up during this show that would have never come up in a normal production. So to end this note, here are a few of the crazy things that happened during this process. We hope you enjoy.

-Derek and Olivier

A list of a few of the wild moments that happened during this production

-Costume and props studies students across the country courier their work to Dal’s costume department, it gets placed on the special table, actors pick it up and use in rehearsal all in the same day

-Designers and crew made curb-side deliveries of lamps, green screens, props and microphones

-Costume fittings and lighting check-ins had to happen over Zoom break-out rooms

-Everyone brings their pet to the camera and we realize that there will be pets in the bedrooms during the show. There are 7 cats, 3 dogs, 2 rats, 1 hedgehog, 1 snake and a snail.

-The Stage Designer sends bits of solidified glue in the mail to the actors

-Christian runs to Emma’s house to throw pebbles at her window and has to explain to her neighbours that its for theatre

-Misha twists her ankle during rehearsal

-The entire cast goes on a walk while on the phone to talk about the play

-Derek twists his ankle during the walk

-People text each other in the chat window of Zoom during rehearsal and sometimes text the wrong person

-The internet crashes, the power goes out, Zoom gives up on us

-The crew sends props and materials through the mail to some of our cast members

-Some vanish in the belly of postal services

-Greens screens now decorate the rooms of ten actors

-The Stage managers accomplish herculean tasks and learn entirely new digital systems

-Ann-Marie’s adorable dog makes his opinion heard during rehearsal

-A collective and therapeutic mental breakdown

-The props team creates fantastic masks and hats based on every day material

-Ryan already owned a plastic bird mask

-Emma’s cat steals the show

-Aquila spends a few rehearsals dancing with a swimming mask on his face

-Kirsten gets up for 7am rehearsals from Calgary

-Karyn bikes to Emma’s apartment at 11pm to give her a new microphone, and also stops at Misha’s before two rehearsals to deliver webcams

-Derek boils water and holds it to his camera to create a mist effect

-Some actors have been mailed props they didn’t end up using

-The crew hears Emma’s partner Nicole singing from the other room and Ann-Marie subsequently recruits Nicole into the show