A PIECE OF MY HEART
|
|
Design Approach Statement
This story takes place in the 1970’s during the Vietnam War. Using a very stylistic approach throughout, it will all suggest the rough, dark, rugged, gritty aspects of war. In war times, soldiers face many different levels of stress, emotions, thoughts, reactions, and pressures, all layering on top of each other make it very overwhelming for the individual going through it. The atmosphere being created will have those same aspects and layers through the designs.
In this production, I visualize a mixture of two worlds; the war zone and western culture in the 70’s as it continues back at the home front during the length of the play. This show deals with many of the issues that soldiers face when readjusting to home life after something as traumatic as living in a war zone. I hope to combine the two in a way that mixes the lifestyle of the 60’s and 70’s and the war zone in a way that reflects the effects of the conflict on the time era.
In this piece, the women are on stage for most of the show and it was important to the director and myself that the actors could be seen at all times. This led to the use of split levels and stairs. With such a feminine show, the layout and bulkiness of the levels and stairs is very masculine and very asymmetrical.
One of the most crucial scenic pieces in this design is the periactoi. There are six of them in the design; one for each of the women. The first side of the periactoi is a watercolor landscape of Vietnam. This is used for all of Act One when the ladies are in Vietnam. It was important for me to do a watercolor painting because a form of psychotherapy for veterans who served in Vietnam was to paint with watercolors. The second side was plastered with protest posters. This side is for the scenes when the ladies first return from the war. This side demonstrates the controversy of a war that tore our nation apart. The last side is a tribute to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The show ends with the ladies visiting the wall and this is the biggest emotional impact. It has two inch names of actual veterans who never made it home from the war.
The biggest challenge in designing this show was knowing that this set would have to be struck each night and set up the following night for a two-week run. This led to challenging technical design decisions such as how to build the platforms, stairs and periactoi to be lifted and moved easily.
Another challenge was having to collaborate and make certain design decisions with the designer from the other show. For example, the seating was the same for each show. It was a three quarters/thrust seating that the directors of the repertory shows and the scenic designers agreed on.
In this production, I visualize a mixture of two worlds; the war zone and western culture in the 70’s as it continues back at the home front during the length of the play. This show deals with many of the issues that soldiers face when readjusting to home life after something as traumatic as living in a war zone. I hope to combine the two in a way that mixes the lifestyle of the 60’s and 70’s and the war zone in a way that reflects the effects of the conflict on the time era.
In this piece, the women are on stage for most of the show and it was important to the director and myself that the actors could be seen at all times. This led to the use of split levels and stairs. With such a feminine show, the layout and bulkiness of the levels and stairs is very masculine and very asymmetrical.
One of the most crucial scenic pieces in this design is the periactoi. There are six of them in the design; one for each of the women. The first side of the periactoi is a watercolor landscape of Vietnam. This is used for all of Act One when the ladies are in Vietnam. It was important for me to do a watercolor painting because a form of psychotherapy for veterans who served in Vietnam was to paint with watercolors. The second side was plastered with protest posters. This side is for the scenes when the ladies first return from the war. This side demonstrates the controversy of a war that tore our nation apart. The last side is a tribute to the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The show ends with the ladies visiting the wall and this is the biggest emotional impact. It has two inch names of actual veterans who never made it home from the war.
The biggest challenge in designing this show was knowing that this set would have to be struck each night and set up the following night for a two-week run. This led to challenging technical design decisions such as how to build the platforms, stairs and periactoi to be lifted and moved easily.
Another challenge was having to collaborate and make certain design decisions with the designer from the other show. For example, the seating was the same for each show. It was a three quarters/thrust seating that the directors of the repertory shows and the scenic designers agreed on.