Ryan Bickler

The first draft model of our scene design for Romeo.Juliet. The main concept was a set of stairs that stretched across the entire stage with a ramp that sliced its way through and down to the stage. This low profile scene design allowed large screens to be flown in and out to serve as surfaces for video projections as well as viewing what the characters were doing while at computers, as this was a modernized performance with no script changes. Originally, there was also a circular tower platform that would rotate to reveal an alcove underneath as well as an altar that was meant to rise from the center of the angled platform. These two items proved impossible and alternatives needed to be made.

The final model revised all issues in the first. The rotating tower was dropped in favor of a static tower and pyramid stairs were added on the sides of the main structure to allow entry at any level. The ramp top does lead to a small drop off behind the pyramid, but this space was left there for use in the many eavesdropping scenes throughout. The uppermost platform extended all the way offstage allowing actors to enter without climbing up stairs in front of the audience. The top of the ramp was colored to match the floor of the stage and emphasize the winding slice through the orderly stairs.

This production shot shows how the surface coloring allowed for space separation on stage as the gray ramp serves as a termination point for the edge of the scene. It also shows how the side pyramids used to access the ramp and stairwell can be put out of the minds of the audience with proper lighting.

The calm of a high society ballroom dance. Every face wears a mask of proper conduct and societal rules.

The chaos of riots in the street as each masked participant throws themselves with the motion of the crowd. The performance asks if this scene is really so different from the ballroom dance.

Juliet being comforted by her nurse after being hit by her father. Though Mr. Capulet always has a chair, he rarely sits choosing instead to be the largest thing on stage. His wife, on the other hand, was always sitting and because she had so few lines or actions, took to drinking her way through scenes as she witnessed all the terrible things around her.

If there was one thing I would change about the design it would be to recolor the vertical stair surfaces that meet the ramp from gray to white. I believe this would have provided a more continuous line in the ramp and a more solid definition of the stairs.

I took this shot while assisting in the construction of the stairwell I designed and measured out for the shop manager. Though it was geometrically intricate to design, it was fairly simple to construct once we put together the cut list with all the correct angles.