Theater Set Construction Simplified: Save Time, Money, and Stress

If you’ve ever stood in the middle of an empty stage and thought, “How am I going to pull this off?”—you’re not alone. Designing and building sets, especially with limited time and resources, is no small task. And if you’re like many theater teachers, you might not have a dedicated technical staff or years of carpentry experience to fall back on.

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to do it all alone. Pre-planned build instructions can help save time, avoid overspending, and reduce that overwhelming “Where do I even start?” feeling.

Why I Started Creating Pre-Planned Designs

When I started visiting other schools and other theater programs, even just checking out other people’s work online, I noticed a huge variance in how people approach set construction. Some of it was amazing! Much of it was overbuilt (which is better than underbuilt from a safety standpoint, but unnecessary and costly) and a lot of it scared me. Many of these attempts took no consideration of basic safety or even physics. 

People don’t know what they don’t know, so rather than excoriate some poor theater volunteer (as many people do online) who just wanted to make something beautiful on stage but didn’t know where to start, I thought “I can help with that”.

I have decades of designs banked in my portfolio files. Many of them can be broken down into components. I wrote instructions for all of these for my own classes. I can collect them, rewrite them for people who aren’t familiar with the terms, and really help people out. And that is where I started. I wanted to save teachers time, stress, and help them create safer sets for their shows, allowing them to concentrate on the set dressing, painting, and details which are often sacrificed for time at the end of the process. 

1. They Save So Much Time

Imagine having everything you need to build a set—dimensions, materials, tools—laid out for you in one neat package. That’s what these plans offer.

Instead of spending hours figuring out what size wood to buy or how to piece things together, you can jump straight into building. Plus, if you’re working with students, the clear instructions make it easy to involve them in the process.

2. You’ll Spend Less Money (and Waste Less, Too)

Ever bought way too much plywood because you weren’t sure how much you needed? Or realized halfway through a project that you’re missing something critical? Yeah, me too.

Pre-planned designs include material lists, which means no more guesswork. You’ll know exactly what to buy. Over time, that kind of efficiency really adds up.

3. They’re Great for Teaching

One benefit of these plans is how much they help teach technical theater. Since everything is already mapped out, teachers can focus on showing students how to use tools and understand the building process instead of scrambling to figure out how things go together.

The plans I create come with connections to the National Arts Standards, so teachers can use them as part of their curriculum. It’s a win-win: the students learn valuable skills, and teachers, volunteers and club advisors get the help needed to build a functional, beautiful set.

Let’s Make This Easier

Theater is supposed to be creative and exciting—not stressful (really, it’s not supposed to be stressful). If set construction has been a sticking point for you, I really encourage you to look into pre-planned build instructions. Whether you use them as a teaching tool, a time-saver, or just a way to make life a little easier, they’re worth it.

You can find Backstage AIC's build instructions here. It's like having a TD ready to help!

What’s been your biggest challenge with set building? Let’s swap ideas—I’d love to hear how you’re making things work in your program!