by Janine Sobeck, dramaturg
In our production meetings, we've had the privilege of seeing the evolution of the scenic design for The Servant of Two Masters. Designer Eric Fielding and his assistant Logan Hayden have been hard at work at creating a set that reflects director Stephanie Breinholt's concept for the show.
The design accentuates Stephanie's vision of a production where all the visual elements have a timeless feel, with no specific time period. Located in a traditional Italian piazza, the set combines different period from the forced perspective of historical design to the "Laugh-in" style of doors and windows. The combination of these different elements, design styles and periods, creates the perfect stage for this zany production.
Here's a picture of Eric's original design.
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Set Design courtesy of Eric Fielding[/caption]
And currently, if you walk through the tunnel of the HFAC, you can see the different elements under construction.
For this production we are trying something new! You'll still see some dramaturgical information in your printed program, including the dramaturg's note, "The Weight of Waiting in The Cherry Orchard."
Alabama Story, playwright Kenneth Jones’ six-actor, one-set drama about censorship, book banning, Civil Rights and American characters in “the Deep South of the imagination,” had its world premiere by Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah in January of 2015.
One of the wonderful things about being a dramaturg is discovering interesting bits of information here and there about the play and the playwright. These are often things that never make themselves visible in the production, but offer fascinating insights nonetheless. Here are ten of those interesting facts we've learned about Chekhov and The Cherry Orchard.