Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1973 - 18

ANYTHING CAN BE MADE
FROM CORRUGATED
BRIANT HAMOR LEE, Bowling Green State University
Corrugated board or paper can be used on stage to
simulate any object. Examples of the use of this material
include carpeting and floor coverings; silhouette cut-out
scenic drops; silhouette edges on set pieces; panelings and
mouldings; bas-relief work; rocks, stones and bricks; reinforced three-dimensional objects, such as towers, trees,
and arches; Corinthian column capitols; mullions and
thicknesses for window units; mantel and pedimental
pieces; shields, either curved or flat; and light weight
properties of all kinds.
Corrugated board is very easy to work with; it can be
cut with mat or carton knives or on table power saws.
Cutawls or sabre-saws with knife blades will also be useful
for large cutting jobs. The best knives for cutting small
curves are pocket k~ives having thin backs and narrow
blades; mat knives are fine for cutting straight lines. but
they are too wide for cutting sharp curves. Table power
saws are preferable for cutting large quantities of straight
edge work. It is advisable to use an old blade in the power
saw since the glue binder, sodium silicate, will dull a new
blade. The cutawl or sabre-saw is advisable for quantities
of curved line work.
Either hide glue or white glue (such as Elmer's) is
recommended for work with corrugated board. With hide
glue one should work rapidly and keep the glue hot.
Experience will indicate the proper consistency of the
glue; if it is too thin it will not hold; if it is too thick it
will cool too fast, and not hold. White paste may be used
straight from the bottle, it should not be thinned. While
small applicator bottles are more convenient, they are
expensive. Therefore once you have a small applicator
bottle, refill it from the largest and most economical
quantity bottle you can find (pint, quart, half gallon or
gallon).
To glue corrugated pieces together some care should be
used. The glue should not be applied like paint, but
stippled on in small dots no closer than three - six inches
apart. If the glue is painted on, the piece will warp because
the glue shrinks as it dries. (This is desirable in the construction of curved objects and shields; by painting the
glue on the back side of the shield, the glue will warp the
piece into the desired shape. A little experimentation is

advised). Place the pieces together that are being glued
and weight them lightly in order to keep air out, making
sure that the pieces do not slide out of line. Drying time
should be about one hour.
Whatever type of paint one uses on the constructed
corrugated pieces, there are a few pointers to be remembered which will produce better results. Any paint has a
binder in it. All binders contract somewhat when they
dry. As a result painted pieces may warp. Scenic pigment
and hide glue paint works well because you can mix the
paint with only enough glue to barely hold the pigment to
the surface of the corrugated, but the rules work well for
other kinds of paints as well. To equalize the tension of
the glue on both sides of the corrugated, it is necessary
to paint both sides of it. Because the paint binder shrinks,
if you paint only one side, the corrugated will shrink
toward the painted side and thus warp in that direction.
I t is advisable to paint the back side first, then, while the
paint is still wet, paint the front side. Lay the pieces,
flat on thei r backs, to dry.
An alternate method for painting corrugated cardboard
is spattering. In this method only one side of the corrugated is covered with paint. The paint is spattered evenly
over about ten to twenty per cent of the entire area to
be covered (figure 1).
This is allowed to dry. Repeat the process, covering
another ten to twenty per cent, and let dry. Continue this
procedure until the entire surface is covered. Paint binders
will warp a piece only if it is completely covered on one
side at one time and allowed to dry.
Regular wood stain can be used to wood grain corrugated. Use very little stain in the brush to simulate the
grain in the wood, as you paint. The corrugated will not
warp if only one side is covered with stain, because there
is no binder in the stain to shrink and warp a.s it dries.
To construct curved pieces such as arch, door, or
window thicknesses, cut the back of the corrugated on
every other valley, as indicated in figure 2. After the
alternate valleys have been cut, bend the corrugated away
from the cut side, as indicated in figure 3.
If this is done carefully a gradual sweeping curved

THEATRE DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

FEBRUARY, 1973

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Feb 1973