Had a great time at this years Column Awards!
Congratulations to Jeff Swearing, pictured to the far right, for winning best original play. Bren Rapp, my partner in crime and amazing producer, wearing an original dress from costumer, Deborah Gerard, and the talented Morgana Shaw and John Venable to the left. When you are dealing with multiple locations you need to keep things simple; or as the saying goes, keep it simple stupid or 'kiss'.
This production of Hamlet uses kids from 10-15 years old and when designing scene changes they must be quick and easy. Remember, kids have a lot to do. First they must memorize a script and remember folks this is Hamlet we are talking about. Then they go through the blocking process, memorizing where to stand at a given time, change into costumes and then.....change the set. It's a lot to do, even for an adult! On some shows I eliminated the scene changes all together, one was Les Miserables. We did not have a turn table and I went back to the 'kiss' method so the audience could focus on the show and not the scene changes. Also remember sometimes your playing space will dictate if you can accommodate a change or not. I have designed in many spaces where wing space was not given. So if you feel over whelmed in any design situation remember to keep it simple. Today is my last to to finish the Hamlet set. Getting ready to paint the floor black, fine tune some areas of the stage, and then relax. Check back on Thursday to see a sneak peek at the finished product!
Get your tickets for Hamlet presented by Fun House Theater & Film. Fun House Theatre and Film brings William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the stage in an all youth production featuring actors ranging in age from 10-15 years old. This multimedia production uses the original text (edited only for time) along with special effects lighting, underscoring and projections of classic artwork to stage an audience accessible version of one of Shakespeare’s most intense works. Designed to uplift, serve and at times clarify the complexity of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, a stark yet intricate set designed by Joseph Cummings surrounds tableaux projections of classic works by Henry Fuseli and other artists, depicting the tragedy of the prince of Denmark, as the action of the story unfolds before the audience. Lighting effects and an exciting underscore provide multiple points of stimulation, adding layers to the performances on stage. Put in a 14 hour day in the set of Hamlet. Next Wednesday and the set will be lookin' good.
Sometimes when designing a set you have to change the type of material the set is made of. This could happen for a number of reasons; it's too expensive (number one reason), it's difficult to work with, it may affect the lighting design or it wasn't what you thought it would be.
This happened just this past week. Don't panic it will be OK! It might not be 100% the way you want but no one will really know the changes but you and your design team. Example, I had to change all of the muslin walls to luan walls (thin plywood). I know it would have looked flawless with the material but I had to make the change. I had to ask myself a couple of questions before making this decision. Did it change the integrity of the design? No. Does it really look that different? No. Can the lighting designer work with new change? Yes. Does it fit within budget now? Yes. Answer: It's OK then. Just make sure the producer is happy and knows about the change. I know the show, in my mind, would have looked like more of want I wanted but sometimes these things happen. It part of the design process. A sneak peek at a scene from Hamlet presented by Fun House Theater & Film. The set for Hamlet is about to start its build. This show is only going to take 2-3 gallons of paint but on the other hand yard after yard after yard of muslin. Below is a another picture of the model.
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My blog is all about the design process, set design,designers I love and architecture. Take a look behind the curtain!
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