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Photo by Brett Stanley/The Advocate
Above: Members of the cast for “King Lear” rehearse a scene from the play.
A Great Design
With a week left before opening night, the set of 'King Lear' continues to come to life
The Advocate
When it comes to the set for “King Lear” recycled products have been key.
“We tried to recycle as much as possible or (use objects) that already exist,” Technical Director Daryl Harrison-Carson said.
When it comes to construction, Harrison-Carson said a lot of recycled materials were used. Aside from reused material, there are several other mediums being utilized on the stage, including tree branches to cover one of the sets’ archways and carpet that’s been turned upside down to look like grass.
“It’s been really fun to find materials that look like what the set designer (Kathleen Powers) drew,” Harrison-Carson said.
Harrison-Carson said construction started the first day of the term and has continued since, adding that it is students doing the work.
“My job is to create what (is) specified as closely as possible with the students,” Harrison-Carson said.
Director Rick Zimmer and Powers met to discuss their vision of how the set of “King Lear” would look. Zimmer had previously worked with Powers during the production of “Measure for Measure.”
“I knew from that experience that the best thing for me to do would be to start a conversation with Kathleen (Powers) about ideas, feelings, themes, textures, colors, and overall impact the play had on me,” Zimmer said. “In other words, I would be the ‘story teller’ and let her be the ‘illustrator.’”
Zimmer described the atmosphere he wanted to create as including “starkness, loneliness, earthiness, (and) baseness.”
When it came to the set as a whole, Zimmer said he “knew I wanted a one-unit set that required very little, if any scenery changes. There are 27 different scenes in the show and ‘(King) Lear’ is complicated enough without adding the tediousness of set changes.”
This “unit-set,” as referred to by Harrison-Carson, is being utilized for the production, so “few pieces come on” during the performance.
Aside from the set pieces on stage, effects are also being utilized during “King Lear.” Harrison-Carson said “We have rain, storm sounds, fog and haze.” Effects also includes the bloodshed that occurs during the play.
“The main thing I’m working on is the kind of blood in the play,” Ruth Lowe said. Lowe is a student working primarily on the special effects for the play. Lowe said that for the blood she makes a mixture of corn syrup with food coloring, as well as a soap so that it is able to rinse out, adding “It works really well.”
Overall, Harrison-Carson feels the set represents the ideas presented by Zimmer and Powers as well as being a well-functioning set. “They’ve (the actors) been using it for a couple of weeks. It seems to work pretty well,” she said.
Shop Foreman David Tangen is looking forward to the production and continuing his work on the set. “I like Shakespeare a lot, so I’m excited to work on this show,” Tangen said. “This set is amazing. I think it’s a great concept (and) a great design.”
“King Lear” will be performed in the MHCC College Theater from Feb. 26 through March 7. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.
Editors' Note: A wine and hors d’oeuvres reception will be held Feb. 26 in the Visual Arts Gallery at 6 p.m. prior to the opening night of “King Lear.” Admission is $10 per person and tickets can be purchased at the door.
Profits from the event will go to MHCC’s Hospitality and Tourism Culinary Arts program scholarship fund, and their field trip and resource fund.
For more information, contact MHCC student Kaitlin Buss at [email protected].
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