Stones in His Pockets: Director's Blog

You probably think Macintosh or Cortland when you think of "Apple Boxes" - but in the film industry they're something else entirely. Scott Olinger, scenic and lighting designer for Stones in His Pockets, first introduced them in an early production meeting as a possibility for creating flexible set pieces.

Traditionally these Apple Boxes - wooden boxes of varying sizes with hand holes on each end - are used to prop up furniture or light-stands, leveling a camera dolly track, or providing temporary seats, workbenches, and steps. If the Apple Box is used to make an actor appear taller, either because of their height, or because of the way a particular shot is composed, it's sometimes jokingly referred to as a "Man Maker." Think Tom Cruise.

Our six boxes in Stones create acting levels, specify location, and even make jokes (only Tim Budd could turn acting with boxes into a laugh). The actors manipulate the boxes into a bus, bar stools, a prayer kneeler, and much more. Oh -and they do make one of the play's fifteen characters TALLER.

Jody Hovland