Write an article based on this "Purchase damaged or bowed wood from local lumber stores. Check local hardware or paint stores for paint supplies. Make fabric backdrops to set the scene on the stage. Repaint backdrops from previous productions. Construct scenery pieces out of plywood or sturdy cardboard."
While it might not be visibly advertised, some lumbers stores are known for significantly discounting damaged or bowed wood. If you explain that the lumber is needed for a local theater production, the lumber store might even donate some other needed supplies as well. Very often, a paint color is mixed, but it isn't quite right for the customer. These are often available at a greatly reduced price, or for free, if asked. It is important to get a variety of colors and shades. Paint is a simple way to change the look of an item without having to hunt for something specific. Try and get the primary colors of red, blue, and yellow, along with white and black paint. This combination will allow you to create a wide variety of other colors and shades. Having backdrops as part of the set design can easily transform a particular scene without having to spend money on fancy lighting or projector screens. Most of the items needed to create a standard backdrop can even be found at your local hardware store. Take some old white sheets or white canvas drop cloths, and pull them taut over wooden or PVC pipe frames. Make enough backdrops to cover the back of the stage. Then enlist help from some good artists at your school to paint the needed designs on the backdrops. If you already have a few backdrops from other productions, you do not have to make new ones. Just repaint the backdrops you already have, or find a creative way to repurpose the scene that is already painted on them. For example, a generic backdrop that is painted with bricks on it could be a city scene, a castle, or an apartment. What will help distinguish the scene is what items you place around the generic backdrop. Plywood and cardboard set pieces, though flat, can be painted vibrantly to represent a tree or bush, and are light enough to be moved on and off stage quickly. These kinds of set pieces are inexpensive to make, especially if the plywood or cardboard was found or donated, and can often be reused in future productions. Remember that objects just need to look like and suggest what they are, and not necessarily be a three-dimensional representation of what they are.