"I was asked to create a similar look for "woody Guthrie's American Song" when I was the TD at the Alliance. In order to keep costs down, I asked the scenic artists to carve the contours of the dirt pit out of white bead foam,…"

"I like to lay carpet down over a well plasticed deck. Try and find a dirt cheap, excuse the pun, outdoor carpet that closely matches your sand. This will help keep the sand from shifting too much and if it does, it won't look like a hard…"

"Have you considered chicken wire with sand colored toilet tissue or fabric pieces inserted into the holes? We did a similar sort of thing with one of our operas..it worked pretty well. Not entirely realistic but enough to get by."

"Thanks, Jerry! I can't take full credit, Victor McQuiston, the PM at the time where I was working, had a strong hand in the conversation as well. It worked pretty well. You can see a pic of the set at www.richdionne.com--in the header image,…"

"We used sand last year for Arabian Nights. 9 tons of white sand. I looked for alternatives but nothing panned out. We ended up bartering for the sane--we got 9 tons of sand, they got a free preview for all of their employees to come to. Helps to…"

"We used sand once for a beach scene and it was a mess. Appreciate the info shared."

"Thank you all for your suggestions."

"When have used sand, I mixed sand with "Sculpt or Coat" and put a thin layer of the mixture on the "hill" I built. There was no dust and keeps it in place, so need to rake it. Sculpt or Coat is flexible so it didn't crack.…"

"Wet sand is hard. Dry sand is dusty. When we had to use sand at UW, we added glycerin and water with watering cans and bow rakes to our sand to keep down the dust. We had the worst of both, hard and dusty. I advise you to avoid real sand. Last time…"

"Furthermore, the cork we use is naturally fireproof!"

"At Cirque du Soleil's show "KA", we use ground cork for the beach scene."

"I think I've heard cork."

"If the orange tops are tight enough, no one will be looking at the sand."

"Thanks for the information."

"haha. Been there done that. We covered the stage first with heavy plastic and then brought the sand in. Also many shells and some ricks. Larger Rocks were carved. This was for City Theatre Company in Pittsburgh for the show "Muckleman". It…"

"Thanks for the informaiton."