FAUX FOOD
Sheet cake from Twilight Bowl
A partially-eaten sheet cake from Jaycee's going away party in UW-Madison's University Theatre production of Twilight Bowl (April 2019). An insulation foam cake is frosted with white spackle and decorated with colorful spackle, then mounted to a cake board and placed into a plastic clamshell cake box. Prop fabrication by Lydia Berggruen (Props Master), production photos by Beau Meyer. Materials: insulation foam, white acrylic caulk, featherweight spackle, acrylic paints, plastic cake board, plastic clamshell cake box, acrylic cake server
Bakery display from Into the Woods
A variety of breads and pastries to fill the Baker's kitchen in UW-Madison's University Theatre & University Opera production of Into the Woods (February 2019). The display includes: foam loaves of bread, muffins, cookies, and danishes; clay pies and sticky buns; styrofoam cupcakes; and malleable pie dough that can be rolled out during each performance. Prop fabrication by Lydia Berggruen (Props Master), bakery counter built by Greg Silver (Master Carpenter).
Bread loaves & muffins
Expanding urethane foam is poured into aluminum bread tins and silicone cupcake molds, left to rise and cure, then is painted with amber shellac to give a "freshly baked" golden finish. Some of the muffins are topped with sawdust "streusel" during the curing stage, and some of the loaves of bread are topped with a mixture of rolled oats and flex glue between the curing and painting stages. Materials: Smooth-On FlexFoam-iT! X, Smooth-On Universal Mold Release, amber shellac, flex glue, sawdust, rolled oats, aluminium and silicone baking molds.
Jelly danishes
Danishes are sculpted out of upholstery foam, coated in flaky paper-mache, and topped with silicone "jam" and drizzles of puffy paint "icing". Materials: upholstery foam, flex glue, tissue paper, amber shellac, ShoeGoo clear shoe adhesive, Smooth-On Silc-Pig red color tint, pearlescent white puff paint
Mini pies
Wooden beads are glued to an insulation foam base, secured into a mini pie tin, painted, and topped with a latticed pie crust made of model magic clay. Materials: Crayola model magic clay, insulation foam, low temp hot glue, wooden beads, acrylic paints, amber shellac, mini pie tins
Sticky buns
An oval of model magic dough is painted and sprinkled with sawdust crumbles before being rolled up and topped with model magic pecans and drizzles of hot glue "caramel". Materials: Crayola model magic clay, acrylic paints, sawdust, flex glue, low temp hot glue, amber shellac