Sets and Stages

The set described at the beginning of the play is a naturalistic audition room set with table and chair, a chalk board and a door. I plan to have the set remain simple as the most important element to this play is the words spoken.

There are several types of stages I could use, including: traverse, in-the-round and proscenium.

Proscenium stages work well for audience sightlines and work is easy to block but the audience feel very removed from the action and I feel the audience feeling like they are in the scene is important in this production.

In-The-Round stages create an intimate and exciting atmosphere: it also adds to the fact that Lauren feels like she can't leave the room after a while. However it is hard to make entrances and exits on an in-the-round stage and sight lines are an issue.

I feel that the most effective stage for this play would be a traverse stage. The play is very intense and scenes of confrontation seem the most real on a traverse stage. Traverse stages work well with sets of minimal props which my set will have. The table and chair will be at one end of the stage and the blackboard at the other as these are the only two large props and are not in the way of audience sightlines.