The nuts and bolts of TCU Opera
A glimpse behind the scenes with the team that builds them
Some say every good story starts with “Once upon a time” or “It was a dark and stormy night.”
But to Robin Owhonda and Robby Fultz, every good story starts with a set.
Cinderella has to have somewhere to lose her slipper. Where would Rapunzel be without the tower? Who would Sweeney Todd be without his barber chair? Or Mrs. Lovett without her pie shop?
In the shop
Since 2022, the pair have been designing and building sets for the TCU Opera Studio. They fit together like nuts and bolts.
“I design, then Robby walks in and builds,” Owhonda said.
She sat in the black box theatre at Secrest-Wible with her legs crossed and glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. They are artists. The 75-seat theatre is their canvas.
They work in the theatre or under the canopy over the driveway of the repurposed funeral home. But they have to be careful. The doors to the theatre are standard. They have to make sure if they build something outside, they can get it inside.
"We don't have a scene shop or a place to build, so that's challenging," Robin said. "When they had their fine arts celebration last year, Corey got us to build the numbers, 150, that would sit at the back of the stage. We built it here, and we were really proud of ourselves. Then it came time to get it out of here, and it was like 'Oh my God, it's too big! We can't get it out of here.' It all worked out, but we had to cut it in half."
Exterior of Secrest-Wible, the building that holds TCU Opera's black box theatre. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
Exterior of Secrest-Wible, the building that holds TCU Opera's black box theatre. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
The set of "Susannah" in the early stage of construction. Photo credited to Robin Owhonda.
The set of "Susannah" in the early stage of construction. Photo credited to Robin Owhonda.
Owhonda and Fultz's scenic studio, the driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
Owhonda and Fultz's scenic studio, the driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
The duo
Owhonda working on the set for "Susannah" in the covered driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Faith Adams.
Owhonda working on the set for "Susannah" in the covered driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Faith Adams.
Fultz working on the set for "Susannah" in the covered driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Faith Adams.
Fultz working on the set for "Susannah" in the covered driveway of Secrest-Wible. Photo credited to Faith Adams.
Fultz and Owhonda working on the set of "Susannah." Photo credited to Faith Adams.
Fultz and Owhonda working on the set of "Susannah." Photo credited to Faith Adams.
The two balance each other.
“He has lots of skills that I don’t necessarily have technically,” Owhonda said.
Fultz said his real job has nothing to do with a drill. It doesn’t require wood or even nails.
“I just do whatever Robin says,” he said with a mustache-covered grin and a twinkle in his eye.
Fultz, a lifelong carpenter, had no theatrical experience whatsoever before starting work at the TCU Opera Studio. In fact, he wasn’t completely sure what an opera was.
“I thought it was like J.G. Wentworth commercials,” he said as Owhonda tilted her head back and laughed. “Where they sing about structured settlements and that kind of thing, you know. But it’s a lot better than I thought it was.”
Owhonda said Fultz’s lack of experience in the theatre comes in handy quite often. He sees everything with a fresh, enthusiastic eye.
“He’s always, you know, upbeat and interested in doing it,” Owhonda said. “He is the person that always has another, faster way to do something.”
Their big break
Owhonda has a Masters of Fine Arts in scenic design from Southern Methodist University. In addition to working with Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, she taught elementary school for 27 years in Joshua, Texas.
Just 75 miles away in Garland, Fultz was a firefighter for 38 years. The duo met in the middle at St. Stephen Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth. They caught their “big break” with then-TCU voice professor, Dr. Corey Trahan.
It was an accidental meeting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Beth Fultz, Robby’s wife, asked Trahan to help with the church choir. Beth introduced Trahan to her husband and Owhonda. They were building a set for “Amahl and the Night Visitors,” a Christmas opera.
“I was so impressed with their work, love for theatre and collaborative spirit,” Trahan wrote in an email.
When he took over as director of TCU Opera in July of 2022, Trahan asked Owhonda and Fultz to join his team. Since then, they’ve designed and constructed sets and props for over 10 operas at TCU.
“I was so impressed with their work, love for theatre and collaborative spirit."
Exterior of the church where Owhonda and Fultz met Trahan. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
Exterior of the church where Owhonda and Fultz met Trahan. Photo credited to Ellie Griffin.
The devil is in the details
Sure, the biggest designs, like the barber-chair and slide in TCU Opera's most recent production, "Sweeney Todd" was Owhonda, but but Fultz has tried his hand at design a time or two.
She said he’s an expert at creating “the little things,” the devilish details.
For last spring's set of “Into the Woods,” for example, he added animals to the forest he constructed. On one rock, between the pink flowers and lichen, there was a horned frog.
“The kids just got the biggest kick out of that,” Fultz said with a smile.
Fultz’s horned frog is the kind of detail that audience members likely wouldn’t notice. But he didn’t do it for them. He did it for the same people he spends hours building sets for in the driveway of Secrest-Wible: the students.
Set of "The Magic Flute" at the conclusion of a performance. Photo credited to Dr. Corey Trahan
Set of "The Magic Flute" at the conclusion of a performance. Photo credited to Dr. Corey Trahan
Set of Sweeney Todd (Amy K Abney)
Set of Sweeney Todd (Amy K Abney)
Numbers constructed by Owhonda and Fultz. Photo credited to Corey Trahan.
Numbers constructed by Owhonda and Fultz. Photo credited to Corey Trahan.
Set of "Susannah" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Set of "Susannah" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Set of "Into the Woods" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Set of "Into the Woods" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Students in the studio
Set of "Susannah" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Set of "Susannah" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
"These sets help us tell a story."
Set of "La Canterina" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
Set of "La Canterina" during a performance. Photo credited to Amy K. Abney.
They noticed.
"Robin and Robby’s handiwork help submerge TCU’s performers into the world of the show,” said Catherine DiGrazia, senior vocal performance major. “Without them, our productions lack the realness necessary to make our stories come to life."
Junior music education major David McDaniel said, Owhonda and Fultz’s handiwork brings the TCU Opera stage to the next level - literally.
“The sets Robin and Robby designed and built truly elevate the experience of our performances,” McDaniel said. “These sets help us tell a story. It improves our ability to be in character, and it makes our staging more creative.”
In tandem with the performers, Fultz and Owhonda's sets allow the story to leap off the page and take shape before the audience’s eyes.
“Honestly, they’re one of the best things about our studio,” said junior vocal performance major, Owen Harvey. “The quality is top notch and really helps to bring these productions to life.”
For Owhonda and Fultz, every show brings new challenges and new opportunities to grow.
“We’re students, too, you know?” Fultz said. “We’re learning, too.”
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