Scenic Design II

Auburn University | Spring 2023

Professor Fereshteh Rostampour

Project 1: Othello

A moored venetian gondola, split in half, sits center stage, scaled to the height of a building; it provides the setting for our story. The hull of the ship sits on the apron stage right, and the bow is entirely missing. Cracks and holes litter the structures as if it has been the site of fighting and weather worn. Planks haphazardly provide patchwork fixes and connect the disconnected parts of the ship. The supports of the boat provide levels for the actors to walk on, and ladders strewn about the ship connect them.

Project 2: La Boheme

The cold Parisian winter. A dilapidated garret apartment where glimpses of the inhabitants arts come to life. Music stands and easels sit in the living room while paintings of the outdoors decorate the walls. The lone bookshelf provides knowledge and warmth. A cafe and street vendor lie outside the apartment as the streets of the Latin Quarter bustle in the nighttime. A quiet toll gate rests unassumingly where lovers will meet again. Impressionistic textures dance across the stage showing the audience a glimpse into the eyes of an artist.

Project 3: The Good Woman of Szechwan

In the round. An abandoned Nazi concentration camp. Hangman’s gallows stand center stage, taller than expected and approachable on all four sides. A noose. Placards hang from the sides of the gallows, indicating the location of each scene. The structure is made of old, rusty metal and has the minimal amount of structure necessary to stand. No finishings. Actors move in and out of the structure while the audience is separated from the scene by a barbed-wire fence. The jagged holes in the fence force the audience to be complicit onlookers on the story unfolding before them.