Wintertime

Charles L. Mee

a set design by Elicia Shotland

Set Design

My set for Wintertime is of the realistic style described in the play, with a few significant modifications: 1st: The main setting, a house, will make use of forced

perspective, which is to say that the front of the set will be constructed wider than the back, angling the walls and creating the impression that the audience is inside with the actors.

2nd: No roof will be present on the set house, so that artificial snow will fall inside as well as outside it.

3rd: While it is described as having one room, there will be a very small entryway which will allow actors to appear suddenly within the main room, without the audience noticing their approach.

N O T E S O N T H E S E T R E N D E R I N G

Apologies for the amateur nature of this rendering: I am not a graphic artist and lack the necessary software in any case.

A proscenium stage is used for this set. Considering the need for special lighting and stage effects, it was considered the most efficient.

Side curtains found on proscenia (not shown) should be altered in colour and pattern to conform to the play’s ‘outdoors.’

The set is constructed slightly off-center; therefore, the stage left wall must be constructed at a greater angle to the back wall than the stage right wall, so that audience members seated on the left do not have their view blocked.

K E Y F O R T H E S E T R E N D E R I N G

A: The ‘outside’ of the set. Fabricated trees (approx. 9) will use the same forced perspective as the house: tall trees will be in front, while those in back scale smaller.B: Plasticine icicles decorate the treesC: A white summer dress, also covered in icicles, will hang from a tree in front.D: The main room, containing:E: Two large windows at backF: An upright piano, of a pale wood, covered in snowG: Two chairs and a table, also used as deskH: A cabinet containing red-and-white willow pattern china plate

K E Y F O R T H E S E T R E N D E R I N G, c o n t .

I: A very sturdy door equipped with microphonesJ: A smaller secondary door leading to a somewhat concealed room,K: The equivalent of a houses’ mudroom, where actors can enter unseenL: The second door of the small room, leading backstageM: A small potbellied stove in the left backstage corner (not pictured)

S E T R E N D E R I N G

AB&C

D

E EF

G H

I

J

K

L

S U P P L E M E N TA L E L E M E N T S

In the text, a frozen white summer dress hanging from a tree is mentioned as a set piece. This could easily be accomplished with the help of the costumes department. Fake icicles will be needed for the trees, and to hang off the dress as well.

S U P P L E M E N TA L E L E M E N T S, c o n t .

Snow effects will be achieved by mechanical and lighting methods. The large windows will be constructed as frames, with panes of glass substituted by a thin muslin photography backdrop. Images of falling snow can then be projected onto the windows to create the impression of snow outside. A snow machine will also allow snow to fall within and outside the ‘house.’

S U P P L E M E N TA L E L E M E N T S, c o n t .

Mee calls for the furniture in the room to be draped in white cloth, which will then transition to black cloth during Maria’s funeral scene. Many fabrics could be used in this step. A sheer fabric would be best, both in the white and black drapery. The rendering includes curtains of a sheer fabric; this fabric would be draped over the piano, chairs, table and cabinet before being dusted with stage snow.The furniture should be delicate, so that the chairs can be broken, but sturdy enough to be functional. Material for the furniture should be pale in colour and intricate enough to appear more fragile than it is.

A D J U S T I N G T H E S E T F O R L I G H T I N G A N D S O U N D

The frequent use of lighting means that the set must be carefully adjusted to support its use. Among other considerations are: Painting the outside wall of the house, which will be

visible to the audience, a colour which will not cause glare from the lights on the side of the stage

Setting up electrical structures at the back of the house to create a red glow in the centre of the stove

Sound elements must be taken into account as well: The front door must be able to withstand repeated

slamming, and be adapted to carry a microphone The door microphone must be carefully adjusted to not

overpower the music it accompanies, and must be remotely, and independently, operated

F I N A L N O T E S

While this production, and Wintertime generally, is a realistic play, it contains elements of absurdist theatre, seen most easily in the costume elements, and could almost as easily be adapted for an abstract production. However, without the support of a physical set or a props department, this would be very difficult to convey. Lighting, as always, remains a central facet of both the concept design and the motifs contained therein. Above all, this set should not impede the other elements, but supplement them, contain them and define a space in which they become more important and more integral to the play than they would be otherwise.