Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville

Scenic design

Concept

The director requested sparse scenery to facilitate fast scene changes. He was looking for something that evoked the time period without being overbearing or busy.

When reading through the script, I was drawn to how stylistically it was presented. the fast-paced scene changes immediately brought images of black and white serial adventures like Buck Rogers or even the old Sherlock Holmes films. The show is set in 1890’s London, and I was struck by the idea of trying to use the stage picture to create interesting silhouettes reminiscent of the lighted zoetropes that were popular parlor devices of that time. I decided on a raised ground row, with the different locations locking into slots on the back for quick scene changes. Strip lights helped sell the time of day and location.

Originally conceived for a proscenium house, we were given the opportunity to move to a professional blackbox that had no bookings due to COVID-19. We changed our initial plan and converted what we wanted to keep into a 3/4 thrust set up. We cut the platform and the wall units, to keep things snappy, and brought everything down stage. Glow in the dark footprints were added in the moat. During the show, the stage lights would hide them while they charged, and in blackouts, they glowed subtly.

PRODUCTION PHOTOs