Scenery Design for The Misanthrope by Moliere
April 2011, Jewell Theatre Company
April 2011, Jewell Theatre Company
The 2011 spring mainstage play at Jewell Theatre Company was Moliere's The Misanthrope. The director chose to reverse the genders of all of the characters so that the story played out with surprising results. The leading male character Alceste was played by a woman as a woman named Nicole. The fickle leading female character Celimine was changed to a whiney and indecisive male playboy named Orgon. The setting was switched from France to Washington D.C., USA and any references to governing bodies were changed to American government titles.
Overall the performance was a success in that the script was made more accessible to young American audiences with the change of locale, and also gave some power to the female performers.
The setting was the living quarters of the playboy Orgon. A young, rich up and coming government official. The shell of the room is designed after French Neo-Classical interiors, but reduced to more simple mouldings and trims. The furnishings were modern and masculine, with a few feminine touches.
The designs were executed over an 8 week period by a crew of undergraduate theatre students with varying degrees of skill and technical experience.
Notes from my first reading of the script. Here can be seen how I play with walls and furniture placement based on script details.
This photo shows the first stage of the white model process. I adjusted the angle of the walls several times before settling on this set up. The stage thrusts out about 12 feet into the audience at the downstage point.
Here is the finished painted model. I built some simple model furniture as place holders as I planned to purchase a new leather sofa and chair set for the show.
This photo shows the thrust constructed and the stock flats primed and ready for final paint coloring.
Here my student crew had the flats laid out around the stage rolling on the final coat of light blue paint.
This photo shows the wood grain floor being painted. I taught several students how to drag the dark brown over the light tan base coat. Only a few were successful.
This is a shot of the final setting with molding on the walls and props and accessories.
The production photos were taken by college photographer Kyle Rivas. Click Here for more photos from The Misanthrope.