DESIGNER STATEMENTS


ARNULFO MALDONADO—SET DESIGN Bobbie Clearly by Alex Lubischer is exciting in its structure and unique storytelling—I was immediately struck by how engaging the interview format can feel within a theatrical context. What is the setting for such a world? In the film/ documentary version of this play, these subjects would be interviewed against a static background. But this play spans both various locations and time. So, it was important for us to create a flexible environment that could easily transport us to different locations and times and that the audience be as much a part of the transformation of the space as the characters in it (thus the thrust seating configuration we've come up with for the space). As with any new play, before even getting into the practical specifics of what the play demands, I like to immerse myself in the emotional feeling of the piece. This sometimes involves music. What would be playing at the time on the radio in Nebraska? Music for me is always a helpful tool in terms of delving into the emotional landscape of these characters; I can create a narrative


An example of a corn crib, which inspired the set of Bobbie Clearly


for myself by thinking about each of these characters' personal tastes (and there is definitely a wide range of personalities and tastes within this small town). From there I started looking at photographs that weren't necessarily about any specific location in the script but rather, again, the feel, of the play. I first landed on this image above. There is something both haunting and beautiful about this photo. Similar to our story. What is being kept behind this structure?


18 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY


Is it a refuge? Is it dangerous? Unclear. Coincidentally, this particular structure in the photo houses corn (these are known as corn cribs). From here Will and I looked at various structures that would potentially live in our world (grain bins, corn cribs, corn fields). Similar to the image, these structures were both beautiful in their form and also dangerous in their capability to cause harm. I also found it helpful to look at documentaries that play with a similar interview/ documentary structure. Documentary-series like "The Thin Blue Line", "Making A Murderer", "Amanda Knox", and "The Jinx" were all helpful in terms of understanding how each one crafted a narrative of real-life events. In some cases these were served via stylized reenactments, and in others it was about letting one's imagination run wild by hearing a subject's retelling of particular events. Alex's description for the set is: “An acre of corn hangs above a bare stage, tassels down, as though the sky is the earth.” Aside from the rich visual these words provide, I was also taken by Alex's word-play, in how he laid them out on the page. How does one bring that much punch of a descriptor to a space that is not much taller than one of our actors, with no fly space? Will and I embraced the limitations


of the space and its literal basement-ness. The “acre of corn” visual felt important in that the corn (field) felt like a vital extra character in the play; it was important for us to retain the feeling of Alex's words in that sense. Thus, why we are surrounding not just the characters in the play, but the audience themselves, in corn-crib walls. The corn is contained behind wire, but at any point this wire can give way...or not. It's that tension that is at the root of the design.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24