DIRECTING
The director of the show was very supportive of my thoughts that involved moving away from realism and his vision was strong enough to make the process as a whole, very easy for me.
SETTING SUN
The concept behind a 'child drawn' memory and the moving flats related very much to the fact that, this was a retelling of a childhood, with a slightly unreliable narrator. This is the story of how his life was falling apart as a child, and as a result, we wanted to show his memory coming apart as well.
Thus, when the going got tough, the flats would shift and fall.
AUSTRALIAN SUN
The lighting designer at first, was not pleased entirely that I had opted for (once again) and almost all-white set. However, she used it brilliantly and set the scene for audiences to understand what the characters were experiencing.
TRICKS
This is student, University theatre. We had very little to use but we made it happen thanks to some amazing stage managers and a committed crew - who had to chuck on their gloves every night and through a pulley system, lift and lower those flats according to what myself and the director wanted.
THE WHALE
In the end, the only feasible way we could solve the sudden whale appearance was to project on an animation I had drawn up of this well, beached whale that was busy dying.
In front of him, the naked man you see - that's the dog. So surreal.
SUN SET
The final scene was one of the stronger ones. As the tension in the score had built, the movement of the flats being lowered resulted in tension being created on stage - not to mention, a murder took place.
Along with the lighting mimicking that of a sunset, and the lower of the flats so as to close the story, the whole piece came together.
Ned's Tales
Our unreliable narrator comes in the form of a young boy, retelling his story. It shifts and shapes as he tells the tale, surrealist elements giving away at the coping mechanisms used to deal with the pain of his childhood.
Here, he is telling his tale, as the action unfolds stage right. This split in stage was intended for this purpose, as well as to indicate scene changes and spaces.
Close.
The very final moments of the play, as the sun fades and the flats lower to the ground, the world collapses.
SET UP
I love the theatre, I love the actors but more than anything I grew to love the crew. They made everything happen and they made it fun.
And a little bit messy.
THE PLACE FOR ME
The opening song of the musical was the moment I looked forward to every night (performed by a dear friend, I might add). It hinted at what was to come as well as showcased key elements of the set, and we had some clever lighting done by a clever lighting designer which just made it all come to life.
Fun !
MARSEILLES' ANCESTRY
I had photoshopped the actors face into all his supposed 'ancestors' portraits, which when flown in as the song progressed, caused audiences to give in to an inevitable chuckle (you see, he had some female ancestors too you know).
He kept them all, post-production.
THE ELEVATOR
Perhaps one of the bigger challenges we had to face during the creation of this show, as one has to keep in mind the small budget and the fact that this was a mere University theatre. The writers had written with so much vigour and enthusiasm that suddenly, there were scenes that progressed from the lobby of the hotel straight to the twelfth floor.
In an elevator.
So we flew one in.
CELLAR
A scene we didn't want to spend too much time on, solved very simply with lighting and a well-cut GoBo.