1. Evaluation
The product I created was the Piragua cart this was used as a key prop throughout the
musical.
The strengths of the cart were that it stood out against the rest of the set and that it was
contextually correct being brightly coloured with reds, blues and yellows as it is a very
contrasting difference from the browns and greys used on the set and it had a Puerto Rico
flag on the side of the cart. Another strength was that it was strong and durable enough to
have the choreographer get actors to sit on it and for it to last being wheeled around and too
last for all of the rehearsals and shows this was because of the structure of the cart and
having a stable frame to bass it around. The weaknesses of the cart were that the four
posters and the canopy that I built of it from the design and got from the research that I did
for my mood board, all the carts had a canopy with four posters on them which again was
contextually correct with the show. What I ended up producing were too small and you
couldn’t see the actor behind and he was blocked from the audiences view so they had to be
cut down, the reason for this was miscommunication as I was not told before or during
building the cart that they needed to be a certain height and width apart so it was suitable for
the height of the actor who was choreographed behind the cart, also it would have been
better for me to receive measurements and a scale drawing and a materials list to be
agreed. Another weakness of the cart would be that it wasn’t finished to perfection just
because I was on a tight time limit because of previous students and their design not going
to plan. Something that I would do differently next time would be that I would communicate
with the performers about what the requirements are for it and then make a prototype
beforehand so I can have a clearer idea of what is expected. Also another weakness would
be that when the cart had the four posters and canopy cut off made it loose its appeal as it
doesn’t look as good as it did before as shown below in the picture of a real Piragua cart and
the one I made after it was cut down, this was also very frustrating for me after spending
days on making it look the best it could. Overall it was a very aesthetically pleasing prop
because it has bright engaging colours and big bold drawings on it to attract the eye of the
audience also it is used very frequently throughout the performance as it completes its
purpose.
Here’s an example of a Piragua cart
in real life.
My Piragua cart after the four
posters and canopy got cut off.