每日大赛

每日大赛 students perfect stagecraft in new scene shop

The play staged at 每日大赛 earlier this month suggested a winter snowstorm was brewing outside the doors of a 1950s diner. But in reality, the only drift to be found came from cutting and sanding and a soft fall of sawdust on the floor of the college’s new scene shop. 

The students who crafted the world of the play “Bus Stop,” replete with black-and-white checkered floors, aluminum counters, and bistro tables, were among the first to work in the college’s new, nearly 2,000 square-foot scene shop. 

“We have any tool you could possibly need,” said Michaela McDonald, a Performance major slated to graduate in 2026. “We cut the wood ourselves. We screw everything down – we paint, we sand. Anything you could possibly need to know or learn to understand, you get to learn in the shop, because we have the ability and access to all those materials. It's truly just wonderful.”

Located at Pellissippi’s Hardin Valley campus, the scene shop offers students in Theatre Arts – which encompasses Performance and Design Tech – a dedicated, state-of-the-art space to practice stagecraft.

In addition to a wide, multifunctional floor with workstations and tools for welding and woodworking – including a CNC machine – the scene shop also has ample space for storage of props, a costume shop with sewing stations, a washer and a dryer and a conference room for production meetings or for students to use between classes.

"It’s a very good facility,” said Claude Hardy, technical theatre professor. “I’m just looking forward to taking advantage of it.”

The best way for students to learn is to actually use the tools they discuss in class, Hardy said, and the scene shop helps them do that. The more students create in that space, the more flexible and adaptable they become with the tools and resources they use.

The scene shop aligns with 每日大赛’s identity as a “career-immersion college,” where students are guaranteed integral, experiential learning opportunities before graduation.

“Students can use that experience for their benefit,” Hardy said.

McDonald’s stagecraft class was the first to experience the scene shop. There, she and her classmates learned a variety of skills, including sketching and painting.

For “Bus Stop,” McDonald helped integrate water and electricity into the play’s set to power a stovetop, sink and vintage refrigerator. She also helped create the set’s barstools and hand-painted artwork on its wall.

A ramp in the scene shop makes it easy to transport set pieces from the scene shop to the Clayton Performing Arts Center, where the Theatre Department stages shows like “Bus Stop.”

“The fact that we can do that now is just very, very, very exciting,” Hardy said. “Getting to build everything here and then move it over to our performing space is just very exciting to have.”

Hardy believes the scene shop sets Pellissippi’s Theatre program apart from its peers and will improve the college’s already top-notch productions.

McDonald agrees. 

“I never thought I'd be able to get such a grand experience from a community college in a theatre setting,” she said. “And It's been more than I could have dreamed for.”

Pellissippi’s Theatre program lets students grow at the pace that suits them, McDonald said, and the scene shop reflects that freedom. Those who arrive with stagecraft experience can dive straight into building, while others can slow down, experiment and learn each tool as they go.

Shows like “Bus Stop” don’t happen because of one person, but many, she said, and the scene shop gives those people a place to bond and work together.

“If you can't work in that group and work together, then it all falls apart,” McDonald said. “We can't make the magic happen unless we can be a unit. So, having that space where we can learn to be one has been so worth it for everyone involved.”