The classic, Steel Magnolias, comes to the EmilyAnn

The true story turned into a now classic and frequently produced play, Steel Magnolias has a little something for every audience member. It feels like a good ole country play and is full of laughs, but also deals with the nature of friendship and more, the reality of death.

Set in Truvy’s beauty salon in Chinquapin, Louisiana, where all the ladies who are “anybody” come to have their hair done, centered around six women, filled with hilarious repartee and not a few acerbic but humorously revealing verbal collisions, the play moves toward tragedy. The sudden realization of their mortality affects the others, but also draws on the underlying strength and love which makes the characters truly touching, funny and marvelously amiable company in good times and bad. Steel Magnolias runs November 1-24, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm and Sundays at 2 pm. Buy your tickets online at www.emilyann.org. Seating is limited and tickets are selling very quickly.

To bring this iconic late 80’s play to life, the EmilyAnn wanted the salon to come alive in their intimate indoor theatre, which happens to be in the round (audiences on all sides). To do this, Artistic Director Bridget Gates brought on Jordyn Collie to design and paint the floor of the space to help more fully transform the theatre. Jordyn is no stranger to the EmilyAnn family, and has been the scenic painter for many of the productions in the indoor space, awing audiences and garnering much priase, including the Emily-Ann Theatre Scenic Designer of the Year 2019 Award. We’ve asked her a few questions to give readers more insight into her process.

How did you become involved with the EmilyAnn Theatre?

Collie: I became involved with EmilyAnn Theatre when my siblings were in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast on the outdoor amphitheatre mainstage. I came to help paint the set one day and have now been involved with many productions since!

What is your favorite floor to have painted and why?

Collie: As an artist, I really can’t pick a favorite floor because they’re all so different...but three that stick out would have to be:

1) Narnia the Musical- I painted a huge map of Narnia. That one is a favorite for the really specific and detailing and aging of the map I got to do! We were also able to change some wording and recycle it for Aladdin, which was awesome!

2) Secret Garden Musical- I loved being able to create the path stones and a mandala, and it was round as opposed to square which was cool.

3) Jane Eyre, the Musical- I loved creating all of the papers and imagining writing everything from love notes to period appropriate news on them.

What do you do to prepare to paint sets?

Collie: The first step to preparing to paint sets is design. Bridget will send me photos of what she wants with color and concept, and I make that design work for the space and set. I struggle to freehand designs, but I am excellent at working from a photo, so I really appreciate her taking time to find me images of what she wants! I then go through the workshop to pick out as many paints as I can that are leftover from other sets to reuse as much as possible. Choosing the paint is honestly one of my favorite things to do! I then select the tools I require while making a plan in my head of upcoming steps. I start with the base coat, then general design and larger painting areas, and then work on all of the detailing. I LOVE painting the details, so I often have to give myself pep-talks when working through the general painting.