Setting the Stage for Our New Nutcracker with Corey Sentz

Nutcracker season is almost here! Here at Ballet Theatre of Maryland, it's an exciting year: on Sunday, November 23, we premiere our all-new production of The Nutcracker.

Putting on a new Nutcracker is an exciting accomplishment for any ballet company. Although premiering any production reflects a huge commitment of time and resources, The Nutcracker is often a company's biggest and most complex show between sets, costumes, and technical demands.

Corey Sentz has served a the project manager for completing our new Nutcracker's scenery

Creating a new production takes many hours of coordinated effort on all fronts, but especially when it comes to the scenic design and construction. Keeping things coordinated is a job in itself. Corey Sentz, Executive Assistant to our Board President Ted Atsinger, has been working behind the scenes for almost two years to keep things moving. She recently took some time out of her schedule to share what's been leading up to our big premiere.

Envisioning a New Nutcracker

In late 2023, our Artistic Director, Nicole Kelsch, had an idea for a new take on The Nutcracker that would entwine the familiar story of Clara, her Nutcracker, and the Rat King with local Annapolis history.

Artistic Director Nicole Kelsch

Nicole shared that vision in a meeting in early 2024, where Board President Ted Atsinger led the board’s commitment to bringing that vision to life. For Corey, who had previously supported BTM as a videographer, that meant that the new Nutcracker was now a big part of her role. The board’s first step was to recruit talent that would do justice to the concept.

Board President Ted Atsinger

The production is not only about Annapolis and its history--it's been a labor of love by members of the Annapolis community. Rockbridge Academy, a JK-12 private school, has been at the center of much of the scenic design and construction process. Not only are Ted Atsinger and his wife, Katrina, deeply involved in the school, but Corey is also an alumna. Diving into their connections with Rockbridge allowed them to recruit a team that would bring Nicole's vision to life.

Creating Concept Art

To create concept art, they worked with Corey's former classmate Alex Foley. He's now an accomplished theater professional who is a founding member of Storytellers: A Theater Arts Academy. His credits in the Annapolis arts scene are numerous, including set design, properties, teaching, and performing. Audience members may remember him in BTM's production of Sleeping Beauty as the be-wigged Master of Ceremonies!

Corey knew he was the perfect person for the job. She says, "He's really good at adding that whimsical, magical flair to something that is historical. He was the first person to give some thought to what it would look like to translate the historical context into something magical and dreamlike."

Alex Foley's original concept art for the Battle scene reflects historical accuracy in the uniforms while still leaving room for the magic of The Nutcracker

Translating Designs into Reality

With Alex's imaginative concept art in hand, it was time to take the next step. Board Chairman, Ted Atsinger, who has a background in set design and construction, led the set and prop design team as they sought to bring Alex’s concepts to life.

Set builders Jan Orazem and Tom Thompson signed on in November of 2024. They're another Rockbridge connection--they've been building sets for the school's musical productions since 2015. Jan has continued even after his son graduated from Rockbridge.

Tom Thompson, Board President Ted Atsinger, and Jan Orazem discuss the placement of the Christmas tree

Corey says, "Jan Orazem is our engineering mastermind, and also the historical advisor for a lot of the specifics about the set. He and Tom are a really great team, and it's fun to see them work together. The other day, I saw Tom create a mock-up of one of the flats in about five minutes. He builds doors for a living and is in a woodshop all day, so he is incredibly well-suited for this project."

Jan and Tom know how to make things last, and they always keep in mind the logistics of how things will be used. Corey explains, "They have had a lot of questions like 'will the dancers be able to do this, are they going to be walking through the doors, are they going to be moving the flats?' Because they can make adjustments to make things easier."

Jan's historical expertise stems from his personal passion: 30 years of caring for his own historic Annapolis home. Originally owned by Governor Thomas Bladen, The Vineyard was built in approximately 1742. During the War of 1812, it housed Maryland State records to hide them from British invaders.

Alex Foley's concept art for the Chesapeake harbor as seen during the show

Translating a drawing into a three-dimensional set requires numerous decisions and necessary alterations. The original opening for the Party scene featured the exterior of the State House, seen below, which would open up to show the interior of Clara's parlor.

Although it was a charming idea, Corey says that the reality proved challenging. "The State House would have been very tall and narrow--given the limitations of our stage, the structure would have to be larger than is possible in order to work!"

This meant the design team had to go back to the drawing board to determine how to answer the question of the original concept: "How do we know we're still in Annapolis, and how do we show the audience that?"

The team considered multiple designs, but nothing seemed quite right. They knew they wanted both interior and exterior scenes for Act I, and they knew they wanted the transition to take place on stage in front of the audience, as part of the performance, but the set needed to be portable for load-in and out at multiple theaters and durable to last for years. In addition, it needed to stay within budget.

In between set design meetings, Ted worked in his garage creating a scale model of a new concept that he had been imagining for a modular set/backdrop combination where the backdrop looks like a wintery Main Street Annapolis, which is then extended into the third dimension by 10 theater flats (false walls) that move and rotate. Facing one way, they make the exterior buildings of Main Street, but once turned around and reassembled, they invite us inside to Clara's festive family Christmas party.

At the next meeting of the design team, Ted presented his model and design. The new set direction was born. Immediately, Jan and Tom began to think of the best materials, structure, and techniques to make it a reality (and stay within budget). The set construction process was off to a great start.

Corey says, "In a sense, the initial challenge became something beautiful. Ultimately, that's what art is: it thrives with the limitations imposed on it."

Constructing the Set

Although the first performance of The Nutcracker isn't until November 23rd, construction on the sets began in July of this year. Under Ted’s design oversight and Corey, Alex, Jan, and Tom’s tireless efforts, significant contributors to the process have been Wendy Golden, Sara Golden, Grusha Sabharwal, and Alysa Cripe.

The Christmas tree famously grows onstage as Clara goes from the Party scene into the Battle scene. This new production's tree will be fully three-dimensional. Above, our builders discuss their plans for constructing it.

Jan and Ted inspect the exterior side of the flats at an early stage in the process.

Further along, Clara's parlor receives half-wall paneling and period-accurate wallpaper.

Each panel moves independently on its own set of casters.

As a final step, the paneling and trim receive a coat of blue paint.

Corey works on one of the flats, offering a view of the exterior side of Main Street. At this stage, the initial layers of paint create the faux texture of brick.

Set painter Wendy Golden paints bricks.

Corey had this to say about the process: "As someone who's lived in Annapolis my whole life, it's really fun that this show is very Annapolitan. When I speak with local vendors who are providing their services for this production, I always say, 'This is for the ballet, you should come, I'll send you pictures of how your product helped bring it to life!' Every single vendor that I've worked with is equally excited to be a part of something special. I always say, 'You know, we're not tearing it down when it's done. This is something we're going to keep doing.'"

The functional hardware on the doors adds to the realism of the scene.

All the care and detail that's gone into the history, design, and construction of the show will pay dividends once the show is complete. Thanks to the board, Corey, Alex, Jan, Tom, and so many others, BTM's production of The Nutcracker will delight audiences for years to come.

Coming soon to Pantherplex and Maryland Hall!

Curious about more behind-the-scenes details? Watch this space next month to learn more about the new Nutcracker’s costumes, as well as a look back on how the production came to be. Subscribe to the blog to never miss a post!

Photo by Joanne Salyer

Ballet Theatre of Maryland's new production of The Nutcracker premieres in Hampstead on Sunday, November 23rd! Catch the full run of the show in our home theater, Maryland Hall, on December 13, 14, 20, and 21.