Big Theatre for Little People - Geva Theatre

5
From the Set Designer,
Dan Meeker
The ideas behind the design are rather simple. As I was reading
the play I was intrigued by the playwright’s use of the box; the
characters’ boxes are almost like additional characters in the
play. When I thought more about this, it seemed clear that the box
was a metaphor for Zacharias and Pepper’s friendship. A box has
edges; it’s predictable, sturdy and protective. The boxes and the
characters’ relationships to them and each other create a bubble
of sorts, a world if you will. This is where the larger box [the set]
comes in.
The world within the
play feels small and
contained. Zacharias
and Pepper are in
control of their space
until the wall is broken
by the Drum Major.
While I was sketching
through rough ideas,
trying to find a way of
conveying this, I kept
coming back to the idea
of them being inside of a
larger box. The larger box offers the same containment and
security of their own smaller boxes. When the Drum Major joins
the scene the box is broken. With this break, so too comes a
change in Zacharias and Pepper’s relationship. They don’t mind
that their space has been invaded; it takes this break to remind
them how strong their friendship truly is.
Once we decided on the box as a larger environment for the play
I pushed it and twisted it until it seemed like the characters’
environment to me. The characters are clown-like. The angle of
the floor and the leaning of the walls exemplify their quirkiness.
I like the repeated shapes and patterns that one might find on
clowns’ clothes, which is where the patterns came from. The play
feels exterior to me which made me think of sky and clouds
which can be both calm and comforting as well as eerie and
mysterious. In the end we decided that the world should be able
to transform over time, as their friendship does. I used
translucent surfaces for the walls so their appearance could be
altered with light.
“Please, water, please.”
Zacharias
Intrigue: To catch
the interest of
Metaphor: A figure
of speech used to
make a comparison
Contain: To have
within itself; to hold
Convey: To
communicate
Exemplify: To serve
as an example of
Quirky: strange
or unusual
Eerie: Strange and
frightening
Mysterious:
Something that is
not fully understood
or is kept secret
Transform: To
change into something
else
Translucent: Letting
some but not all
light through
Alter: To change in
some way