Shakespeare set project
Brief
The RSC is commissioning a series of schools and community tours of shows around the west midlands.
The show will be ana adaption of a Shakespeare play which has been modernised to make it accessible to todays audience. it will tour in a Luton van with a staff of 3 stage management.
Your brief is to design a versatile set to fit numerous locations with multiple staging possibilities. you must present design ideas, CAD designs and a model box. You must design this with the green book at the forefront of your design with references to sourcing and making.
Play synopsis
Play synopsis
When choosing a Shakespeare play I wanted to choose one which would allow me to use a lot of colour and patterns within the set design. Based off this I choose Shakespeare's "a midsummers nights dream" as I believed the fantasy and whimsical nature of the play would allow a more bright and colourful design.
The play itself is set mostly in a magical forest full of fairies, kings, and queens.
Theseus is getting married, his friend Egeus tells him how his daughter (Hermia) wants to marry Lysander instead of Demetrius who she is bedrove to. Lysander and Hermia run away tougher into the forest. The king of the fairies gets annoyed at his wife for loving her adopted child more than him so he sends puck to get a flower that will make the receiver of its liquid fall in love with the first thing they see. There is an acting troop that is practicing a there play in the woods, but while one of the actors Bottom is on a break his head turns into a donkey causing him to run away. Puck squirted the juice from the flower in the eyes of: the fairy queen causing her to fall in love with Bottom, Demetrius causing him to fall for Helena (who has always loved him), and Lysander causing him to fall for Helena leaving Hermia alone. In the end the king of fairies reverses the flowers powers and every gather for Theseus’ wedding.
Though we had to design a set that would fit multiple scenes and settings we only had to make a model box of one off the scene in the play. I choose Act 3 scene 1 as I really enjoy reading this scene and it would allow a further blend of the magical forest and the human world.
In act 3 scene 1 the mechanicals meet in the forest for their next rehearsal. While Bottom is preparing puck stumbles upon him and turns his head into a ass so when he makes his big entrance all the other mechanical run is fear. The noise wakes Titania and the potion makes her fall in love with Bottom.
Mood board
Mood board
A mood board is an arrangement of images, materials, pieces of text, etc. intended to evoke or project a particular style or concept. A mood board enables a designer to communicate there loose ideas visually to help with the design process and showing others their ideas. When creating a mood board for a midsummers nights dream I wanted to try and combine the castle with the forest to create a more versatile set.
design / technical drawings
design / technical drawings
For my design I took a lot of inspiration from my mood board constantly referring back to it through the design process, this allowed me to a clear vision for my design that was right Infront of me that I could rely on. My design includes an elevated stage that adds various levels to the design, large flowers in the foreground which add to the whimsical nature of the performance, And colourful wonky brick walls which hint at the castle while still keeping it in this magical world. All these key features I seek to add into my model box.
For my scale drawing I used the scale 1:25 as it was the scale I understood and felt most comfortable using. I only scaled the walls, elevated stage, and flower beds and not the actual stage itself as I wanted it to be versatile and fit whichever stage it sat on.
Model Box Materials
Model Box Materials
Foamboard
The main material we used to make our model boxes was foamboard. Foam board a light weight, versatile material made of three layers of paper and plastic foam. We used a exactor knife and a metal scale rule to cut the foamboard. Since the foamboard is made of multiple layers, It must be cut in three slices for the cleanest edge. First you cut through the top layer of paper, then through the layer of plastic foam, and finally the last layer of paper. We used a metal ruler rather then a plastic ruler to make sure we didn't accidently cut the ruler and damage the knife. In my model box I used foamboard for the base, walls, elevated stage, and steps. Using the foamboard gave me a strong base for my model box and a smooth surface for painting.
When decorating my model box one material I used was mod rock. Mod rock is a plaster bandage that is used for modelling, casting, and crafting creating a textured surface. To apply mod rock you first cut the amount you need then lay it on the surface you wish to apply. Then using a paint brush and water coat the mod rock in water to bond it to the surface and make it mouldable. In my model box I used mod rock to make the base more textured to further immerse the set into the forest. I liked the effect the mod rock created especially in the forest setting.
Mod rock
Model Box Evaluation
This is my final model box that we had to design and create based on a Shakespeare play. I chose “A midsummer’s night’s dream”, as I believed I could have a bit more creative freedom not restricting it to a room, rather a magical forest full of possibilities. Equally I wanted to include some aspect that would reference a castle or some sort of town so the set could be used for all the scenes with minima, large changes in set. I believe this model box does give this effect and merges the two worlds of the magical forest and the more traditional castle.
When making the Model box I started by cutting the base and the walls to scale out of black foam board. I did struggle cutting the foam board and making the edges neat to scale, but when painting and decorating the model box I was able to cover most of this with leaves or painted hot glue. But some of the edges of the base were still exposed especially at the front which did make the the base look messy if you look too far down. If I was to make this again, I would try and cover this with ribbon or some smoothed out hot glue.
Once the base was made and glued, I moved to the brick work using card to make them 3D and painting them. Before the card I tried making indents into the foam to add dimension, but this didn’t give the 3D effect I wanted so I tested card, and this gave me a lot more freedom in positioning them how I wanted and a bit more depth. When painting them I didn’t just want them to be just grey I wanted more colour to tie in the castle with the forest. I tried to dry brush some colour onto the edges, but this just made it look a bit messy. Once I added the darker colour between the bricks, I did like it more but I bel I could have implemented the colour a bit more effectively.
I then moved to the stage. I attached the stage with hot glue and filled in the gaps with hot glue to make it blend better into the floor. I then painted it with brown and bronze paint. I attempted to paint a multicoloured wood grain onto the front of the stage but wasn’t keen on the outcome especially because I couldn’t achieve the shape, so I ended up dry brushing the bronze over the top. Overall, the stage became one of my favourite parts of the set especially as it can be converted to different props for different scenes.
Next, I made the flowers which I absolutely loved. I made them from wire, hot glue, and coloured lighting gel all twisted together. This created a very effective flower especially if they were made to size with lights inside. If I was to make them again, I would like to experiment with different shapes, sizes, and colours but they are my favourite part of the model box.
Finally, I painted the floor and added the leaves trimming the edge of the walls. The floor I change a lot especially the grey stone bit. I tried to add a 3D effect to the centre using the same technique as the walls but when I added the mod rock this was coved. I added the mod rock to try and add a more textured floor, but you can't see this in the final design. The leaves did immerse the stage a bit better into the forest setting which I do like. I added hot glue behind the individual leaves to make them bulkier and added an iridescent paint which pulled it all together.
In conclusion I do like my final model box. Its very similar to my designs and does give the illusion of a magical woodland. There are aspects that I’m not too keen on especially the floor but over all these are overshadowed by aspects that I do like. Overall, the techniques that I have learned I with to Cary with me into many more future projects.
