Jose Molina, an elementary school student, could see the characters in the photo were wearing grass skirts and figured they were in Hawaii.
What he couldn't tell about the scene in the photo was described by Charles Steckler, a professor of theater and designer in residence at Union College.
Steckler, who has designed costumes and sets for more than 100 shows during his 35-year tenure, helped lead Molina and about 15 other third- and fourth-graders through an exhibit of his work in the college's Mandeville Gallery in the Nott Memorial. “Charles Steckler: Stage Design'' is a retrospective of Steckler's work, which has ranged from “Waiting for Godot'' to “Tartuffe.''
The grass skirts were used in a production of “A Midsummer Night's Dream'' set on a Hawaiian island. Steckler's stage design included a volcano that was attached to a rope; the volcano started out low on the stage and rose slowly throughout the play. Lights were used to provide an appearance of lava. A large, glowing moon was constructed of hundreds of pieces of popcorn.
Molina and the other students are part of SAIL, Studying Arithmetic in Literature, an after-school program supported by Union, which provides tutors and arranges field trips. Molina's group was from Elmer Avenue School, but the program also runs at other city elementary schools.
“They were very animated and asked a lot of questions,'' Steckler said of the students.
Tom West, an Elmer teacher, said many of the SAIL kids otherwise never get to see a museum.
“The goal is to get them out and seeing things,'' he said.
After the tour of Steckler's selected pieces, the kids made dioramas out of shoe boxes, tissue paper, straws, pipe cleaners, fabric, stickers, markers and other items.
Keilmani Griffin, 8, made a diorama of her mother in the kitchen. Griffin chose a paper queen to portray her. “My mom does so much for me,'' she said. “Sometimes she's strict.''
Amber Jablonski designed a stage with a pink background and a black rhinestone sparkling curtain. She wants to be a ballerina when she grows up. “I have a pink ballerina dress and I practice in my room,'' she said.
The workshop was sponsored by Time Warner Cable. Steckler's work will be featured until April 30.