The first page of the script of Ngozi Anwanyu’s Good Grief (onstage at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 26, 2017) specifies the time (1992–2005) and place (Bucks County, Pennsylvania) where the play’s action occurs.
But what caught scenic designer Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s attention was something much more abstract: “it is always night.” She explained that this was her first “aha” moment with the play, which captured her imagination from the very first read-through.
7 comments:
This design is absolutely beautiful. The light strips against the house shaped frames make it feel less like a frame and more like an outline. There is something light about it. I love that each house is the same structure, bed placed in the center and a few shelves with items along the side, so that those little variations in the props become the focus. Normally, I hate when a lot of props are used in a sparse design, but containing them inside each of the house structures, it works perfectly. I think the prop choices were excellent. The houses are abstract, but each prop is very real, with just enough to make it feel complete without being cluttered. The shoes under the shelf, her hanging jean jacket, laundry basket, string lights and a dream catcher, plus the slightly less common microscope and telescope. The way his backpack sits on the shelf and the video game controller placed in the middle of the floor, there are places that feel very staged and intentional, but I think that works with the precise house structures around them.
While looking at the pictures in this article, I’m oddly reminded of the chair article a couple weeks back, where some people were reminded of Susan’s talks about seeing an object for more than in its simplicity, or even seeing the simplicity in a broader view. I feel like this is set design is the perfect example of how to see an object in different perspectives and leave inquiries what those perspectives could mean. Even though it is only an outline of a house, with lights illuminating each bar, and that the rest is open space, it’s sort of odd how confide and even claustrophobic it feels, because it is the shape of a house. I believe that this really grounds the audience, and enables them to go a bit more fanciful, like make the house move. Which gives me this interesting contrast of realism and abstractness sort of rotating together, and all of this from just reading an article and seeing a couple of pictures.
I think there is a lot of cool stuff right off the bat here. First, that the scenic designer was able to use such a simple portion of the play to begin developing the design around. And it is something that is constant through the play, not a progression or arch throughout the play. The next thing is the description of the conversation between the scenic designer and the director and how meaningful and pointed that conversation was. Then, how simply that conversation lead into the final design concept. The idea of such a minimal, but meaningful set is really cool. Including the lighting detail, the blue floor and the meaning behind that is really cool. I would love to hear the lighting designer’s comments on the show and what they think of the way the collaboration process was conducted for this production. Hands down though, this is a very pretty show.
Usually I am not a fan of such minimalist set design, but Schwartz managed to make this simplistic set feel intimate and as well as spacious. The lighting on the pipes makes the rooms remind me of a church or religious shrine of some sort. The aesthetic this set presents is pretty unique and fresh. I'd love to see a video of the two rooms moving because I'm sure the slow, smooth movement of them would contribute to the show. The only thing I am slightly concerned about is how the lit pipes of the bedroom might distract audience members when they're watching the show from a seat on the sidelines. Perhaps since the rooms move, the audience members will always be looking at the rooms in different angles? However, after looking at the photos, I just really love the way the rooms look when they face the audience. I suppose that is the struggle with large moving scenery and simplistic sets. Either way, I love the look of this show and thought-process behind it.
The picture of this set in the thumbnail for the article immediately caught my eye as being ethereal, dreamy, and other-worldly. Currently I’m assistant scenic designing on The Matchmaker, and the whole design team has lately been talking about how to do this show in a unique way by personifying the environment as different elements from Dolly’s memory, as if she is recounting the tale herself and running the whole “show” in a self-aware and nostalgic way. For this we have been talking about making certain parts of the set very vivid and standout-ish while having other parts blur to the background, almost like in an old cartoon when a specific object that a character interacts with is a different shade or outline than the rest of what surrounds it. This is very similar to what the scenic designer is describing as abstracted shapes in their set, not wanting to pin it down to anything too specifically. The led- lit domestic archetype of the pitched roof houses are both aesthetically beautiful and meaningful to the show’s idea of intimacy and lived-in-ness. I think that a lot of the times we as designers tend to get caught up in the idea of visual interest and therefore lose sight of the main ideas of the show, but this designer has seemed to combine both of these things in a simple yet effective way.
While I feel like I've seen this "only the lines of a house" scenic design before, but the details and the lighting make it stand out to me. All the details fit in so well with the minimalistic, somewhat intimidating frame, and I loved reading about the lighting- especially the reference to El Anatsui. I saw a big mural/sculpture of his in Toronto over the summer and haven't forgotten his work since. He filled a wall with linked recycled pieces and metal bottle caps, and they glistened and waved. I thought the recyclability and scale or his work was fascinating, but I hadn't associated it with light like Stephanie Schwartz did. I realize now how the details in his "drops" fit so well with constellations, and I love how she generated the idea. From the photos, I believe her understanding of lighting, as it affects her own set and how it contributes to the story, makes her design memorable.
Typically, I'm a fan of traditional, detailed, more complex settings for plays but there is a certain appeal with Stephanie Schwartz's design. The shape is easily recognizable to practically all audience members as a house and plays with scale, line, and form in a lovely matter. Because the houses are bare and wear blank walls, the set dressings within each individual space contrasts with its background. Bursts of color in personal belongings, bed sheets, the costumes all play into greater character schemes. The concept of dreams discussed in the article is clearly seen because of the white and black and the lack of detail which works extremely well. Reading about what Schwartz was thinking about is interesting especially in terms of the sentimental, hearty, delicate interiors where emotions are revealed versus the abstract, simple yet figuratively massive exterior with the stars in the sky and how the set is designed to strengthen these concepts. On a final note, the overall set design reminds me too much about our arcade projects--interiors and exteriors, small spaces, personal experiences within small spaces. YIKES.
Post a Comment