"The Husband who was to Mind the House" - Set Model Box (Version One)

After I created the initial designs for the set, I then went on to create the model box. The model box at this time was crafted using mostly card and paper, and is not to scale. The aim was to get my initial thoughts out into a 3D piece before concentrating on the finer details. Working in card was beneficial to this process as it meant I could have a free flowing approach to the project. I was able to adapt the design quickly as I went on, and could change or eliminate certain parts that were not working. I enjoyed the whole process of creating the model box. It was really exciting to see the designs I had in my head come to life on stage (if only on a small scale!).

The empty stage model before any of the set went in. The character model is scale to 1:25, and is based on the husband character in the text. His height was modelled on my own!

The farm house is created to resemble a structure that has not had it's walls put on yet and has just the beams showing. This allows for light to go into the house from nearly every direction, and the background to be seen through it. I thought it would be a looser structure on stage than a solid house, but is still quite clearly where the family live.

The trapdoor opens on stage, and instead of the husband going down to the cellar, the barrel of ale is lifted up to him. It could be attached to the inside of the cellar door. The lighting of the scene could change to help show that the husband should now be in the cellar.

The cloud line has been removed from the top of the stage, and the house is now raised off the stage on beams. A hill has been put in behind the house. This shall be used to hide the lift which puts the cow and the husband onto the roof.

A textured ground next to the house distinguishes it from the surface of the farm house.

The view from above of the layout of the stage.

"The Husband who was to Mind the House" - Initial Concepts

Below are the initial design concepts I drew up based on my interpretation of the text and the different aesthetics I found during my research. These drawings are quick sketches based on my immediate response to the text, and are not to any kind of scale. These designs were created within the structure of the short course I was attending, and we were encouraged to just bring out our first response onto the page. Although certainly not perfect, I think these drawings are able to show my first response to the text.

"The Husband who was to Mind the House" - Research and Moodboard

The Husband who was to Mind the House is set on a 17th Century Norwegian farm. After reading the text I had a few ideas in my head what I imagined the stage to look like, but for further research I took a trip to the National Gallery to study paintings of the time. I was also looking for paintings which helped capture the tone of the play, or even just ones that captured how the characters might have lived. This trip was taken as part of the syllabus from the summer course I participated in.

National Gallery - Paintings to Inspire

The below paintings are all ones which I was able to observe while visiting the National Gallery. Each of these have given me different insight into the time period the text is set, and also helped to contribute to the design I already had in mind. There are more paintings which I saw that inspired me, but the three below are my favourites. The others have been put into a mood board at the bottom of this post.

Anna and the Blind Tobit - Rembrandt

La Fontaine (The Water Cistern) - Jean-Siméon Chardin

A Farm with a Dead Tree - Adriaen Van De Velde

Moodboard

After my research trip to the National Gallery I looked to other sources for inspiration. I have collected the images from the gallery with my other sources into a mood board, which is below.

My initial thoughts for the piece are to use handmade and natural surfaces and textures within the design, in order to display a working farm in the 17th Century on stage. I have reflected this within my mood board, which will act as initial inspiration for my design process.

Set Design for Performance - Summer Course

To help me get a better sense of the process behind theatre design, I recently attended a summer short course at UAL: Central St. Martins, entitled 'set design for performance'. Although the course was only a week long I feel like it was a brilliant experience, and has definitely helped to inspire and inform my further work in the field. During the course I learnt how to dissect a text, put it into workable units, research the text, create scale drawing for stage,early concept designs, and the creation of a model box. A lot of great stuff was fitted into the week, giving me a brilliant introduction to the world of theatre design.

The Husband who was to Mind the House

The first set design I will feature on this blog is a continuation of the work I started while on the course. The text that was chosen for us to adapt was entitled "The Husband who was to Mind the House"; an adaptation of a Norwegian folk tale. I was not familiar with the short text but was immediately drawn in by it's witty narrative and rich characters.

The text tells of a husband and wife in 17th century Norway who decide to switch roles for the day; the wife will go out to mow the field, and the husband will stay home and 'mind the house'. Various mishaps through his day lead to the husband eventually getting stuck in the chimney. The play is set on a farm and features not only a husband and wife, but a cow, pig, and baby. It was fun trying to work out how best to portray each of these on stage, and addressing the challenges these might lead to.

The following blog posts will begin to show the development of my ideas and designs for this text.

Starting Theatre Design

Hi there! My name is Ed, and you've found my blog dedicated to my work in theatre design. Although I've always loved the world of the theatre, this will be my first foray into the design process behind it.

I have always had a love for storytelling, particularly in film and on stage. I am a recent animation graduate, and am now using the knowledge I gained through my studies towards other artistic ventures. The focus I had through my degree was towards narrative, and I hope to carry this forward in my new work. I think there is a lot of transferable skills which I have learnt which can be applied to theatre design. Before my degree I completed a foundation diploma in art and design, which only helped to add to my passion and interest in art and design, but also let me experiment with different styles and aesthetics too. Recently all of my 3D work has been within a computer, so I'm looking forward to making some work by hand again.

I will be updating this blog with all my theatre design work as I produce it. I intend to take a text or an idea and turn it into concepts for a stage design, while including research, storyboards, costume ideas, computer aided design, and model boxes. Most of my work, for the time being, will be self imposed briefs, so I hope to pick a mix of projects I am familiar with as well as challenging myself creatively.

I am looking forward to seeing my creative results, and I hope you will all enjoy them too!