Plant Design

Before starting to construct our very own Audrey II (the plant) for the show my group and I researched how you could build the plant, way to plan the construction, look in to different measurements and which colors to use to intertwine both themes together.

A lot of our time was spent on discussing the process and figuring out how it would work best. We needed the plant to be life size so that someone could wear the costume throughout the show. We took measurements of a member of our group and decided to apply ourselves to work with them.  Due to using a real life size measurements we had to take in to consideration that someone will actually be in the plant which will consist of a lot of movement during the show. There also needs to be easy access to enter and exit out of the plant so it needs to be quite spacious. By using the correct materials we began our construction, throughout the process we were all determined for a great outcome bearing in mind we had an immovable deadline, which meant the pressure was on.

These are a few pictures of my group and I whilst designing and creating the plant. We spread the work load between all group members in order to meet an immoable deadline on time. We used a wide variety of materials to create the props and this was really affective as it gave a different texture and variety of color which made the show more lively.

This is an image of the final outcome of the plant on the stage. As we measured the plant before creating it, the scale of the plant was perfect and spacious for an actor to work it manually throughout the show.

Stage layout design

Designing the layout of the stage is one of the most important tasks. By learning key important terms in the theatre industry such as down stage, stage blocking, sightlines etc, my group and I were able to design a layout for the stage. Firstly we enabled ourselves to acknowledge how much of the staging area we were covering by taking measurements. This was necessity in the process as we would eventually need them to create the props. Then we went through the script chronologically to acknowledge what objects such as chairs, tables and props were needed and where. Our main layout was the layout which includes majority of objects which used throughout the show. Whilst during the whole process of laying out the stage I was able to recognize some pointers which I had learnt such as, whether you’re organizing a huge or small, an outdoor or indoor show, exhibition, fashion show or any type of event a run through of the design layout is always needed. It is one of the most vital tasks and if it is done properly there is a high possibility for the event to go very unsuccessful. It is also why rehearsals are performed before hand.

Stage Design

To visually communicate our idea of the background for the show we created set designs in smaller scale model boxes. To decide on which photos to use I researched the time of the play and where it was set which was: 1950’s New York. I created a mood board and then went on to choose the best images for a perfect setting. Between each group member we showed our ideas. We discussed and analyzed them to select which setting would go best for the show. As soon as the decisions were made we wasted no time to start creating the backgrounds. We used a variety of materials such as: painting, oil pastels, fabrics, tissue paper etc. During the process we took in to consideration the size and that some backgrounds would need to change during the show as the whole film was not set in one setting. With all our creative minds and knowledge by thinking and discussing it out we were able to successfully build the perfect backgrounds.

Final Designs

This is my final design of the production leaflet and poster conducted by my group. Due to using intense research of the production I was able to start recognizing how I could form a poster where the viewer could acknowledge the genre of the production, in relation, in our posters I think we have achieved this by taking in to account the colours, images and typography used. As seen in my planning you can see that initially we wanted the leaflet/poster to include images of the central characters in the production. This was focused upon as we wanted to give a slight hint of the storyline as a teaser. For a wide range of targetted audience we took them in to a huge importance of consideration so that the design would be suitable for them. So we decided not to create the poster too “childlike.” I would personally describe the poster as formal, imaginative and interesting. All the information was clearly stated in a ‘Times New Roman’ font as we did not want the A4 sized leaflet/poster to look too busy as this could look a bit messy and not thought about whilst producing the layout. I believe the design looks absolutely professional; I would definitely be able to use it if I were organizing the show in a huge theatre. It works well for a wide target audience and covers all the aspects of looking like a horror, sci-fi and comedy musical production.