Building A Rotating Door Wagon

One set piece that we are getting a lot of mileage out of is a rolling door frame. It's basically a Hollywood door flat finished on both sides with two rolling platforms flanking the sides.

We finished one side with fake brick and foam decorative capstone, the other side with simple white paint. Setting the clearance on the bottom threshold was probably the trickiest part as it still drags on the few uneven portions of the stage floor.

You can see in the original SketchUp design, I planned to decorate the wagons but it made the doorway feel too tight or claustrophobic for the actors. The actual door (pictured in the shop during construction) eliminated the step up and shrank the wagons. 

This was a great solution to providing a physical entryway to several locations on set. By finishing both sides differently it can also create different settings. If the actor walks behind the door as it's moved on set, they appear to magically enter without crossing the stage. We even placed the door with the side edge facing the audience for a scene where the characters or on opposite sides presenting juxtaposed emotions.