All The World's A Stage

The second Elective term is here, and we're more than ready in this course, focused on the place where all the drama happens. On the stage. Stage Chemistry is a class all about stage design, you know, from theaters and plays. This Action Project challenged us to find and report on an appropriate with some sort of presentation in mind as well. Personally, there's a criteria on the rubric where we're tasked to compare aspects and details, the Goodman Theatre (or any other location as long as you get accurate measurements). Considering the open nature of my space, it was difficult finding direct numbers I could use to calculate and compare. However, I was able to think outside the box and utilize already established or common assets like "windows", even if they're somewhat irrelevant to the play. With that being said, I have a Playbook just down below, in PDF form, that tells you all you need to know about my stage.

The play I chose is actually a rendition of The Legend of Zelda. A simple tale of adventure and heroic feats. It's a common tale that's no doubt grown even that much more popular recently, as it is one of Nintendo's leading franchises. I had to thinking of just what kind of stage would appropriately fit the world of Hyrule or at least reenact parts of it. Thinking within a realizable budget that wouldn't make things go overboard, as well as being an accessible location for me to take measurements of, I was determined on having an outdoors location.

VG, Welles Park, March 2017

Then I realized something, Welles Park Gazebo was perfect, or at least for accessibility. I couldn't fit a large audience all the gazebo, considering how limited views would be as soon as the action moved about the audience. And limiting all action to be just inside the gazebo as an arena stage (a stage in which the whole audience surrounds the stage) would also be far too limiting for the actors and wouldn't mimic grand scale that all Zelda games have. I wanted to accommodate for the large open spaces, long travels, and also portray a variety of locations. However, with just one gazebo, that seemed almost impossible without making the theatre the literal entirety of the park.

VG, Welles' Stairs, March 2017

That's when I realized a type of flexible stage (one that can be modified) or proscenium stage (standard layout) would be the best set up. Utilizing the gazebo as a guide for key locations, as the identity of the gazebo changes throughout the acts, and using the peripheral vision of the intended audience location as the boundaries for the wings of the stage. Yet one challenge I still haven't overcome is the struggle of creating a  reliable or consistent backstage or other wings.

VG, Gazebo Floor, March 2017

Welles vs Goodman
-The gazebo and surrounding area 68.75% larger than Goodman's 4000 square foot Albert theatre
-The lobby of Goodman is only 4025 square feet, significantly smaller than the rest of Welles Park (which of course can easily act as a lobby) which is approximately 818,250 square feet large
-The gazebo features about 9 openings or windows that are not for entrances/exits, whilst Goodman only has 6 main windows that stretch across the lobby (each section of the lobby having its own borders for the window panes)

Now just below you can view the actual playbook, in PDF format.