Skip to main content
2022-2023 Season

Designing the Realism of 12 Angry Jurors

12AngryJurorSetConcept.png

Before a show opens its doors to audiences, before there are costumes and props, before sets are built and actors are cast, it starts simply as an idea. This idea is known as the ‘director’s concept,’ which a director presents to the designers at the show’s first production meeting. After that, it is the designers’ job to transform that concept from an abstract idea to a physical manifestation that can be seen onstage.

For this production of 12 Angry Jurors, our director, David Morgan, had a simple concept: 1950’s realism. But he added a twist: crappy 1950’s realism. This left the designers with the job of interpreting for themselves what ‘crappy’ meant for their designs and how they were going to execute it. Each designer presented their responses and initial ideas and once the whole team was on the same page, they set to work.

For example, our hair and makeup designer, Shaina Romney, included in her designs ways that makeup could smear and hair could come undone from its style throughout the show. She even included ways for actors to add glycerin spray to their faces from stage to appear as though they were sweating more as the tension of the show builds. Katelyn Hales, the production’s scenic designer found ways to mimic aging in buildings, such as water damage to the set (taking inspiration from West Campus itself!), and choosing unflattering yellowy colors for the walls.

As you enjoy BYU’s production of 12 Angry Jurors, keep an eye out for these ways that the designers applied the director’s concept. And don’t forget to look for other ways our team manifested “crappy 1950’s realism.”

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Behind the Scenes of Adapting Swan Lake

June 15, 2023 08:24 PM
With a show as universal as Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake Ballet, one would think that there wouldn’t be many unknowns to staging a production. However, director Ashley Parov had a vision to make this classic ballet more accessible to ballerinas of all ages. Instead of producing a typical 3-hour-long ballet, Ashley imagined an hour-long family-friendly piece. How then, do you fill in the gaps of the story?
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

The Jesus Christ of Godspell: Forums with BYU Religious Scholars

March 13, 2023 09:58 PM
Dramaturgs Darci Ramirez and Andrew Elijah Schindler invited scholars from the BYU Region Department to join us in discussions about the Jesus Christ of Godspell. Multiple similar forums will be held in connection with this production.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Godspell Graffiti

March 13, 2023 08:25 PM
I used to vandalize property now I evangelize properly.- Gospel Graffiti
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= overrideTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection= overrideCardHideByline= overrideCardHideDescription= overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= overrideTextAlignment=