MAKE TREES FOR THEATRE: Two great ways to make trees for the stage. Stunning "Circle" Leaf Canopy

In this tutorial video you'll learn two rarely used, but incredibly useful ways to make trees for the theatre. These two methods are very different from one another, but still work well together. You'll also learn how to make an original looking leaf canopy out of PVC pipe and zip-ties for a magical forest appearance.
Theatre professor Peter Bloedel shows you how.
#itsacreativelife,
#blctheatre,
#proptalk,

[@cherishlchaim5556]

Amazing!! I’ve been trying to figure out how to “build” a large tree for next year’s Tu BiShvat celebration. This was a big help. Thank YOU so much!! 🌳 🎂 🌴 🎂 🌲

[@briperryyt]

I CAN FINALLY come back to this video to comment and say with 100% certainty and thanks for the successful tree idea. We made both tree types for our production of Into the Woods and they ended up amazing! When people asked I said “thank you Hey Pete on KZbin for the help! He got us here!” So thank you I recommend these trees to everyone who needs them!

[@heypete1827]

Wonderful! So glad they worked out. Thanks too for the kind words. Appreciatively, Pete.

[@michaelshell4332]

where do you get the fabric for the hanging trees??

[@heypete1827]

They're 20 or 25 years old. I got them at SR Harris fabric outlet all those years ago.@@michaelshell4332

[@kimberlygreener4661]

Wow! “Creative” is an understatement! Such vision and passion! Thank you for sharing!

[@heypete1827]

Thanks, Kimberly!

[@hdb80]

Well, I'll be doing this in my classroom on a much smaller scale. Thank you for this!

[@heypete1827]

Sounds awesome!

[@taminielsen1307]

I'm obsessed!

[@imperialthreat]

Incredible! Thank you so much

[@heypete1827]

You betcha! Thanks for watching.

[@beccajohnson6980]

This is awesome. Thank you so much for this.

[@heypete1827]

Thanks, Becca! Glad to help with ideas.

[@sswift11]

This is so awesome !

[@heypete1827]

Hey! Thanks! I appreciate it.

[@ItsViolaRose]

I’m so glad I found this channel! I’m building a tree for my room XD

[@heypete1827]

Haha! What an awesome idea.

[@benjaminarsenault1722]

Doing research for making a ponderosa pine tree, and came across this video. It doesn't help in my case but i just kept watching cause these were such cool techniques

[@heypete1827]

Thanks, friend. Cheers!

[@shengsang1040]

Very creative job!

[@heypete1827]

Thanks much, Sheng! Thanks for the PVC donation too. Haha. I appreciate it.

[@broadwaymarquee]

I used the Drainage Tile method for a production of Secret Garden! It looks incredible! I painted straight unto the foam rather than covering with muslin. It created a such a cool gnarly effect. I wish KZbin allowed us to comment with pictures. Thank you for this video! It really elevated my set design!

[@heypete1827]

Awesome! So glad it worked out!

[@AlmostCouture]

Thank you so much for sharing ❤ I am going to use your techniques to make cherry blossom 🌸 trees for my 40th garden party!!!

[@heypete1827]

Excellent. That sounds fun!

[@cherishlchaim5556]

❤️ Would love to see pics and get your suggestions, especially since I’d like to do something similar but with an almond “tree” theme. ❤️

[@hamairman6840]

Congratulations! The big five-oh-oh. The momentum is building.

[@heypete1827]

Thanks, man. Happy day after Thanksgiving to you. Still can't get myself to acknowledge Black Friday I guess.

[@deloraaustin4507]

Love the pvc pipe for the circle leaves. Awesome trees. I am looking for ideas for a palm tree design for church Bible school.

[@heypete1827]

Cool. I wonder if you could cut the pvc circles into half circles, and then zip tie each half circle to a rod of some kind to make palm leaves. Not sure if that would work, but maybe...

[@user-mi8pq1qo8l]

Amazing!11111❤❤❤❤❤

[@heypete1827]

Hey! Thanks.

[@Useaname]

Excellent. Subbed

[@cherishlchaim5556]

Question- Does the muslin allow the “Tube Trees” to be taken apart, stored, and re-used? THANKS!! ❤️

[@gingersnapperformingarts2564]

These are so cool! thank you for the amazing ideas. Question: after you cover these with all the fun things (muslin, foam, etc), do the tubes get stiff? I have a very hasty load in and Im wondering if I can make these ahead of time or if I need to priortize this item as somethign that gets put in and designed during load in.? Any thoughts greatly appreciated

[@heypete1827]

Hmmm. Interesting idea. They do get a little stiffer. When I covered them with muslin I covered the entire bunch of tubes as one. In that way they were all bound together which gave them more rigidity. My guess is that you'd have an easier time of it if you covered them after you've loaded them in (but I might be really wrong about that). I do know that you can have the circle leaf canopy ready to go before you load in. Those could be put together anywhere.

[@gingersnapperformingarts2564]

@@heypete1827 thanks for the insight ! I may just wait until I can get them in there and hanging so I can make sure I like the way they are shaped before I wrap them all together.

[@heypete1827]

Gotcha. Best wishes on the project. Hope it turns out great!

[@mushroom443]

This is so cool! No idea if you’ll see this but my school right now is doing a production where ideally we wouldn’t have trees but we want to be able to give the idea of trees through a leaf canopy- do you think this canopy could work on it’s own? I think we’d either paint it green/use lighting to give it more of a woodsy feel (play takes place at a sleep away camp) but i’m not sure. Any ideas would be appreciated, thank you!!

[@joshcreason6941]

Can I ask where you order the tubes of fabric? I love these trees.

[@heidiknightmeigs7334]

What creative ideas! I'm really interested in trying the tube trees. In this design, it looks like you're dead-hanging them. Do you think they would work well if they were flown in and out for scene changes? I'm wondering if they would move/swing and if the tube bases would take up a lot of fly space (getting close to light fixtures or hung up on other equipment) when they're flown out.

[@heidiknightmeigs7334]

I'm also scouring the internet for an affordable stretch cotton that we could sew into a tube!

[@heypete1827]

@@heidiknightmeigs7334 Hi Heidi. I've seen the cotton tube trees flown in before. It does work. However, it might take some problem solving to get them looking tight to the floor. I wish I had a good source for you to look for the fabric. I got my fabric from S.R. Harris back in the day.

[@lukespurgeon5964]

Hi! Love all of this! I was wondering if you think the sock tree could also be adapted to make columns? Paint the fabric to look like marble?

[@heypete1827]

Hi Luke. It might be possible, but you'd have to do your best to hide the very tops and bottoms, since those will naturally want to flare out. Painting marble on them might be tough, but I never want to say the word impossible. Something I often do is to make things small before I make them big. If you can get it to work in small-scale, then it's probable that you'll be able to make it work at full-size.

[@lukespurgeon5964]

@@heypete1827 Good point about the flare! Thanks!

[@tingkisqurratahayun6258]

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[@NotoriousCDB]

Great work! Where do you get the tube fabric?

[@heypete1827]

Hi Christopher. The tube trees that I made are about 20+ years old. I originally got the fabric from SR Harris warehouse in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. I'm not sure of an online source, but I have asked Emily, my costumer, for some help. If I can find a better online source, then I'll come back with another comment. Otherwise, you're looking for a fabric that is a stretchy cotton. It wouldn't be too hard to sew a bolt into a tube and then turn it inside out.

[@jonathanselns1298]

Hi Pete, I’m curious about the foam you’re using on the pipe trees. I’m trying to make some on my own, but the foam I’m using, just expands to much..

[@heypete1827]

Hi Jonathan. We used Great Stuff brand, and I think it was the window and crack filler kind. However, make sure that you get the big cans that are used with the applicator that is sold serparately. That makes a really big difference. The cans that are sold with the cheap plastic applicator will not work nearly as well. Hope this helps.

[@jeffreycobb6190]

is there a way to put the second tree on wheels to go off and on stage?

[@heypete1827]

Hmmm. I think it'd be tricky, but I don't want to say impossible. The corrugated tubes don't have much rigidity, so it seems to me that whatever you are anchoring them to "up top" would have to be able to move off stage also.

[@seanmohler2031]

What was your system for securing the tree canopy to the Batten safely?

[@heypete1827]

If I'm remembering this right...we secured the centers of the canopies with 1/8" steel cable. Then we were able to add more support and "shape" them a little more with black cotton tie line. Each canopy unit was relatively light weight.

[@nunc-hic-stans4211]

Nice, but much plastic.