The Earth is Flat
Scenic Designer - World Premier Production - CCM 2017
Production Photos
The Earth Is Flat written by Todd Almond, is the coming of age story of a boy named Ethan who struggles with his personal life as he tries to navigate college. The poetic nature of Todd Almond’s writing evoked emotions of love and loss, akin to any college student. The Earth is Flat had so much to offer in terms of emotional impact even though the setting was oftentimes just the simplicity of a dorm hallway. From an emotive standpoint, the writing often forces Ethan to exist in transitional spaces without settling.
Research
The environments in the script were actual places around the University of Cincinnati's college campus. Research was found on sight to preform the design results with added surrealist embelishments to match the feel of the script.
Renderings
Each of the 11 scenes was rendered and illustrated to help the visualization of the final product throughout the process.
Initial Concept
To aide in the surreal feeling of the script all while creating a good working environment, forced perspective was employed for two more walls further upstage to heighten reality and make the stage feel expansive.
Draftings
11 designers plates were created in AutoCAD to detail the walls, floor, groundplan, section, and various props for the production.
Painters Elevations
15 painters elevations and a forced perspective "cheat sheet" were created to detail the walls, props, and an extensive breakdown of the floor.
Models
3 black and white, 6 printed 1/4" scale, and 2 hand painted 3/8" scale models were created to detail the design changes through out the process.