Set Design for All in the Timing

StradivariusBone

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Trying to figure out which direction to head to on this one. Being that it's 6 distinct plays within one, it's a little daunting to find a design that works throughout all. Right now I'm leaning towards building a box set design pulling elements from the "timing" theme with clocks and gears, etc. Two of the acts feature cafe/restaurant scenes (Philip Glass is a bakery, so not far off) and then two require desks and classroom/office type settings, but "Words, words, words" with this dadgum tire swing is killing me.

I'm not sure if to design for three distinct areas, leaning on the fact that heritage of this show is small spaces and often performed in selections, but I'm not sure if there's enough room to fit all of that on a 40' proscenium.

The other thought I had was building the box with two rotating walls on the upstage wall that would act as a sort of 2D periaktoi, which when opened 90 degrees would allow for the tire swing to be brought on, but I'm concerned about the lateral stress on the pivot point, which would be all that would hold the walls up at that point. Not to mention having to find a way to mask the seams this would create.

Has anyone done this show before?
 
I'm not familiar with the show, so my artistic suggestions here may not mean much, but have you considered a much less literal approach to the settings? I might start by analyzing themes or ideas that go across the 6 plays. Why are they combined into one show? Then I'd come up with an artistic / visual concept that supports the work and use that as a framework as I determine how to meet the action requirements of each piece. Perhaps you don't need walls at all. . .
 
That's where I'm kinda going right now. This is a coffee house-esque show, so getting that vibe on a larger stage without feeling sparse is tricky. Right now we're leaning on a few flats placed upstage with a mural of sorts with elements of time, timing, clocks, gears, etc. Most scenes call for doors (and a few for windows) so I'm thinking a few well-placed flats downstage on SL and SR might suffice, but not have to be connected with the other ones. It's hard to describe what I've got in mind, but I appreciate the insight and the reassurance!
 
In college, we built three turntables with each having 2 sides to make scene changes and so forth. it worked well with the black box theater we had and also for minimal set pieces to change up. A general look to each side made the two sides distinct yet similar for the different scene pieces that makes up all in the timing. It is a great show and very fun.








Trying to figure out which direction to head to on this one. Being that it's 6 distinct plays within one, it's a little daunting to find a design that works throughout all. Right now I'm leaning towards building a box set design pulling elements from the "timing" theme with clocks and gears, etc. Two of the acts feature cafe/restaurant scenes (Philip Glass is a bakery, so not far off) and then two require desks and classroom/office type settings, but "Words, words, words" with this dadgum tire swing is killing me.

I'm not sure if to design for three distinct areas, leaning on the fact that heritage of this show is small spaces and often performed in selections, but I'm not sure if there's enough room to fit all of that on a 40' proscenium.

The other thought I had was building the box with two rotating walls on the upstage wall that would act as a sort of 2D periaktoi, which when opened 90 degrees would allow for the tire swing to be brought on, but I'm concerned about the lateral stress on the pivot point, which would be all that would hold the walls up at that point. Not to mention having to find a way to mask the seams this would create.

Has anyone done this show before?
 

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