Special Event Design

Not a Fan Stage

Laura Blechle from White Flag Christian Church in St. Louis, MO brings us this set created for a sermon series based on the book “not a fan” by Kyle Idleman.

Receiving inspiration from Blue Ridge Community’s Big Baller stage set, they purchased the 3” Styrofoam ½ balls from Smoothfoam.com and created this set. Their columns were 8’, 12’ and 16’ tall and 4’ wide made from ½ pink foam sheeting from Home Depot then painted black. In an effort to get a seamless joint, they used construction adhesive and tacked on a 2’ wide waste piece of pink foam sheeting to the back, overlapping the seam and allowed it to dry before painting. Then when they glued the balls onto the panels, they placed them over the seam for more camouflage.

For hanging the panels, they attached a 2 x 4 to the back of the panel about 6” from the top—making sure that their screws would be placed under a foam ball. The ‘not a fan’ panel was constructed of 2×4’s and drywall, painted with deck Restore paint to give it a good thick texture and then grunged up with some black paint. They cut the letters from hardboard (looks like pegboard, without the holes) and painted them white. They were then glued to small 2×4 blocks so that they would stand up off the panel.

IMG_1155

IMG_3205

IMG_3207

IMG_3216

IMG_3240

not-a-fan-stage

Simple Stacked Rectangles Drops of Heaven

11 responses to “Not a Fan Stage”

  1. Steven Potts says:

    So how much did this total project cost?

    • I don’t have the exact costs, but, I know that we spent $300 on the balls alone plus lumber, drywall, and foam board. I’m sure it was right around $500. for the entire stage. When we were done with this sermon series, we left all the panels up and changed out the one with “not a fan” to another ball panel – that was an additional $100.

  2. What fixtures are you using there to up light the dot walls?

  3. Topher Jones says:

    What are the measurements of the, “Not a Fan” hanging panel? Looks great! I’d love to use this idea with a hanging sign for our main service.

    Thanks!

  4. Just saw your question, the panel was 4′ wide x 16′ tall.

  5. Nate Bantle says:

    Hi!

    Looks great! What did you use for glue? Gorilla? Hot glue gun? Super?

    Also, note for everyone else. Never spray paint insulated styrofoam. It will destroy it.

    THANKS!

  6. Josh Wallace says:

    Laura

    What is the best way to set the templet so that all the balls are even. I’ve seen others lay a chalk line but trying to see if I can cut the work of having to erase it. Just wanted to see what y’all did.

    • Josh,
      I agree, I didn’t want to take a chance of leaving a chalky residue on our panels either. We cut a template from a piece of plywood and used that to place the balls. Look closely at the picture with the letters being painted and leaning against the wall you will see our template. Good Luck!

  7. Daphne says:

    HI Laura,

    Love it! How did you all make/cut the letters? How long did it take you?

    Thanks!

Leave a Reply to Ryan Bartlomain Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.