Any show is a challenge when it comes to sets, and Tryon Little Theater’s “Fiddler on the Roof” is no exception. House, barn, bedroom, farm, tailor shop, inn, village—all set in Tsarist Russia. Before anything can be constructed, painted, decorated or dressed, there has to be a plan, a design, a concept of how each scene will look and an idea of how easily it can be converted to the next scene.

Luckily, set designer Lindsey Moore has years of experience and a bag of tricks up his sleeve that is quite impressive: modules that double as different set pieces — easy to turn and adapt from a kitchen to a tailor’s shop in the blink of an eye; tables that withstand beefy Russian dancers; bed frames and milk wagons; stove tops and inspiring backdrops.

“Once we’ve agreed on the set, the construction crew can get to work. They really bring my ideas to fruition, and do an amazing job.  Then the painters and decorators pitch in, and before you know it, what was all pie-in-the-sky has become reality.”

Moore likes to be as authentic as he can with his designs and still needs some items to decorate the set.

“We need a few old hurricane lanterns – the type you can hang – some old-looking farm implements like rakes and brooms, and about a dozen wooden plates.  So if anyone has any of these they’d like to lend us, we promise to take good care of them,” he said.

“Fiddler on the Roof” runs Feb. 20 – 23 at the Tryon Fine Arts Center (34 Melrose Avenue). Tickets go on sale Feb. 10 at the TLT Workshop (516 S. Trade St. Tryon). Visit www.tltinfo.org or call 828-859-2466 for more information, or if you have any of the above items TLT can borrow.

– article submitted
by Monica Jones