As I knew precisely every join in the structure I was an integral part to the get out in being able to dismantle the timber ready for re-use for A Soldier's Tale.
The first step was to free the steeldeck from underneath the rostra so the guys from the steeldeck company could take it with them along with the rest of the seating. John and Pete took headway with this once I told them how it was put together, and the treads were removed complete and ready to go into the Prop Store ready for re-use. We de-clad the rostra so we could recycle the timber for the pallets used in A Soldier's Tale.
Next, along with Jake the actor, we pulled up all of the floor planks, some screws coming out easier than others! We ended up taking a crowbar to some of the planks we had nailed in or where the screw head had ran off the screws; rendering them unusable and irremovable.
After that was done, the next step was to start dismantling the structure. We started at the downstage-right end, first by removing the aesthetic "support", then the bracing from the wall, then using a team of us to lower the leg to the floor. It was a very quick process, much quicker than getting it up there but there were a lot more of us than there was when it was being erected. We went section by sections keeping the rest of the structure attached to the wall to keep it secure and reduce the risk of it falling on us. We kept the back piece attached to the wall till last, bringing down the A-frame first with one person footing each leg so it didn't slide away from underneath us. The last piece to come down was the first to go up, the rear section to the structure; this came down very slowly with a lot of us walking it down.
We disassembled most of the pieces but as we were running out of time we chose to leave most of the longer legs still in their construction, John and myself deciding that we would disassemble them as and when we needed them at the Studio where we are building A Soldier's Tale.
What became of the wheel I hear you ask?! Well, as it is such an impressive part of the set that everyone enjoyed and appreciated it, we have put it in the university grounds as a sculpture that demonstrates what the School of Performance is capable of!
It felt very cathartic to take the set apart, and it feels nice that it has come round full circle and also, that I was involved in every step. It also feels good that I ended up being an appreciated member of the team, integral to the removal of the set.
