This set design was for the opera Transformations, based on Anne Sexton's book of poetry by the same name. I did a fair amount of research at the beginning (which isn't shown) but it led me to these first four set concepts:
A living room, built in the 70's
An abandoned Modernist structure, lit by the moon
Another 70's living room, this one with the book spilling out onto the stage
A curved staircase, drawing inspiration from server farms and jungle gyms
After deciding that I liked the first two best, we moved to ground plans. Here is a ground-plan for concept #1 and two for concept #2.
I then decided to proceed solely with concept #1. I built a 1/8" scale white model. Below you can see drafting of walls and furniture, followed by the model itself.
Lastly I expanded upon the white model to create a 1/4" scale full-color model. Where the white model shows the beginning of the show, the color model is intended to show what the stage looks like at the end. The idea was that at a dinner party in this house, the adults gather to tell stories, but as the stories grow darker, so does the mood, and playing like children can have real and dangerous consequences. Drafting and painting of the wood paneling below, followed by the final model.
