Spring Awakening

Worthington Community Theater

"After Dark" series

MadLab Theater -  Columbus, Ohio

Concept: The director wanted to focus on the written word in the script. Throughout the script, there is mention of writing in Latin and learning sexual knowledge from books. Using this as a launching point, I designed and built a set made from books, torn pages, and the written word.

The Build: I knew that I had limited space to build the set and that the load into the theater space had to be quick. I built the set focusing on the need for ease of transport. The main platform of the set was created from community-sourced outdated encyclopedias and reference books.  A raised platform structure was created and placed on the encyclopedia "legs." Built into the legs, I added a set of stairs that the actors could use to climb to the top. After hollowing out old encyclopedias, I wrapped them around the wooden steps on the platform legs to hide the stairs. I also used the spines of the books to finish decorating the legs. The final touch was to fill the front of the platform with more books to give the illusion that the platform was sitting on a stack of books.

The Tree: building the tree posed a few creative obstacles that had to be overcome. First, how do you create a giant tree that could be built and transported to the theater with the least amount of headache? I accomplished this by building the trunk out of a concrete form tube, wrapped in paper-mache from the recycled pages from the encyclopedias.  The pages were left unpainted to keep with the original concept of text and written words. After the main tree trunk was made, I created many branches and limbs using pool noodles and chicken wire, that could be shaped and attached to the tree when I arrived at the theater. When I arrived at the theater, I used a fishing line to support and hang the branches from the lighting grid above the stage. Then, I glued the branches to the tree trunk to create this giant tree on stage.

The floor: The floor was a living, breathing piece of the set. I armed the cast with paint pens and told them to go crazy - requesting them to journal, write stories, and play tic-tac-toe on the stage. I was told that new things were added to the stage doodle on a daily basis, which added the final touch to the stage.