Basic Conceptual Ideas

Based on initial conversations regarding the script and its structural and theatrical needs, director Robert Neblett and scenic designer Jeremy Harris have decided to approach the visual concept for this production á la Disney's "World of Tomorrow" and 1960s/1970s sci-fi contentions of what the future world "in the year 2000"might look like, architecturally.

HERE IS A VIDEO OF THE ROLE HELD BY
ROBOTS IN THE "WORLD OF TOMORROW"
FROM THE 1940 NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR

Taking a little inspiration from The Hunger Games and A Clockwork Orange as well, we are conceiving the inhabitants of this world as being slightly stylized, slaves to eccentric fashion such as brightly colored wigs and hair color, highly geometrical clothing, to suggest "futurism." The androids, however, will appear hyper-real with natural colors and shapes, suggesting that the trend of "reality TV" has advanced to the next level, regardless of how artificial its audience has become.

These choices allow us to set up binary tensions between a world of flesh and a world of technology, a world of reality and a world of fantasy, a world of deceit and a world of authentic emotions.

Because the entirety of Act One and the majority of Act Two takes place in a television studio, we are exploring an open space/unit set that is fairly generic, but contains different "pods" where technicians and the director control the action from electronic consoles. This studio will consist of large platforms on casters that can be wheeled around to form different configurations, depending on which scene is occurring and which perspective the audience needs to view the action from.

The Act Two scenes that take place at The Grand Hotel and The Hotel Mombassa, and these quick change sequences are the most challenging aspects of the scenic design of the play. We are considering several ways to deal with this, which includes the use of the mobile pods for the main set units, as well as wagons that can move on and off stage for the Hotel scenes. Another aspect we are planning to explore is the use of the curved orchestra lift that serves as the lip of the stage at the MVC Performance Hall, to reveal characters and scenery in innovative ways.

I am attracted to the idea that all of our electronic gizmos are inspired by Star Trek and Doctor Who and other sci-fi programs from the 1960s - 1980s, full of blinking lights and switches and buttons. If we intentionally go with a design that incorporates a campy, kitschy perception of technology, I think we can get away with more low-tech solutions to the challenges of the play. It also has the potential to ramp up the comedy of the piece as well.