SYNOPSIS
Working with the Department of Theatre at The Ohio State University, my class was challenged to focus on a play to create a stage concept. The professor gave us multiple plays to read, but each student chose which play they wanted to create a design for.
TIMELINE
16 weeks (Spring 2022)
TYPE & TECHNIQUES
School Project // Research, Ideation, Sketching, Modeling
Research
At the beginning of the semester, the professor gave each student a list of plays to read. Of these three plays, we would each pick one that we wanted to create a scenic design for. The three plays that were given to us were:
Fences by August Wilson
The God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza (translated by Christopher Hampton)
The Flick by Annie Baker
I read the three plays and wrote a discussion response over each and included images that I would pull inspiration from. During these responses, I focused on the setting, the characters, the objects that were interacted with, and items that were spoken of. When we read each play, we were encouraged to avoid looking at examples of each play. This way, our reading responses, inspiration photos, and final design would not be influenced by past renditions of these productions.
Practice Model Building
To learn how to build models in architectural scale, each student created miniature pieces of sets. These practice pieces included two-step stairs, flats, and tables.
Model Stage
For the final, each student was required to make a model theatre to put our design into. The Drake Performance and Event Center has the two stages; the Thurber Theatre and the Roy Bowen Theatre. The Thurber Theatre is a 600-seat capacity Proscenium Arch theatre while the Roy Bowen Theatre is 200-seat capacity Thrust stage with stadium style seating.
I chose to make a miniature model at 1/4" scale as well as the final model at 1/2" scale. This gave me time to learn and practice working with the material so that my final model stage would be the highest quality I could make.
1/4" Scale Model of the Thurber Theatre
1/4" Scale Model of the Thurber Theatre
1/2" Scale Model of the Thurber Theatre
Research
After a second read-through, I research the history of the play, the writer, and my interpretation of it all. The three elements that I focused on in this part were the total space, the seating, and the coffee table in the center.
The living room holds the entirety of the night’s conversation between the two couples. The house belongs to the Vallon’s and should be obvious. A middle-class home owned by a writer and a hardware store worker, the living room should feel lived in and comfortable. A couch sits next to the coffee table holding many photography books. Second chairs could be dining chairs that were brought in for the “meeting” of sorts. The coffee table is one element that could create the effect of “knowledge of art” even though they may not have original, “famous” furniture.
Rough model
Creating a rough scale model for this play gave me the chance to work on the floor plan as well as understanding the design space and limits. The model included major scenic elements like walls, furniture, and scale people. The emphasis was on working in scale and composition of a stage.
Floor plan
Focusing on the critiques I received, I changed and added to my floor plan. This floor plan would be the base of the final scale model so any changes would need to be added now. I also added extreme sight-lines to evaluate what the audience could see beyond the set. This helped me design for what would be behind the doors and through the windows.
Final
The final consisted of the finalized floor plan as well as a designed set in either 2D or 3D in the model theatre that we had built at the beginning of the semester. I chose to create a 2D scene in a 3D space because I was able to create the shapes that I wanted with printed sketches rather than constructing miniature tables/chairs/etc. The final floor plan was not much different that the rough draft, the main differences being a back room to the audience's right and a porch that could be seen though the windows.
Final Thoughts
While I am very pleased with the outcome of my project, the next time that I have the chance to either improve this set or create a new on, I will challenge myself to create 3D furniture. I also believe that I would focus more on the details of the overall piece including cutting out the furniture to the edge, rather than leaving the white space. This is most apparent in the plants and sofa chairs which block much of the front view. This class was a great way to dip my feet into the theatre design world!