Spooky, dark forest.
Woods
Warehouse
An old car, if we were to have one.
Study of light coming in through a wall of industrial windows.
Stormy sky
Old junky houseboat.
Collection of lamps.
Image of how light can be cast from a lamp.
Research
In the first meeting with the design team, we all sat down and talked about what the Simpsons means to us. How it might shape a culture, and influence a new world. From the beginning it was apparent that we were aiming for a 'realistic' approach to the world of Mr. Burns, that is, the scenery, costumes, and lighting had to be genuine to the real world. As if the audience were honestly watching this group of survivors.
We broke the script into three scenes, three acts, and I got to work on designing three key locations. In the beginning the survivors are "in the woods," then 7 years later rehearsing an episode of the Simpsons, then 70 years later, we watch a full-scale production of this episode. Because the characters are fighting so hard in the script, I wanted to show how they take back control in an apocalypse.
Sketches
Forest, night idea.
Forest, day idea.
Different set dressing ideas.
Because we decided to structure our production as three long scenes, we quickly chose to make each scene an act, with set changes in between. The first act is Pennsylvania, in the middle of the night in the woods. The second is a few years later, in a re-claimed warehouse which has become the groups home-base, a safe place. The third act takes place in a re-claimed church, because it would realistically be the largest building that holds such a spiritual significance.
Renderings
For this show I did a mix of rendering in Vectorworks and on paper, mostly to experiment with the 3D aspect. Shown here are some front-on images of Act 1 and 3, showing the scale and size of the sets. For Act 2 I drafted a 3D model to show the depth easier, as well as one with marker to show all the details and set dressing I wanted to add.
Drafting
Here are ground plans for each act, as well as elevations and a page of paint elevations for Act 2. One of the biggest challenges with all this scenery was figuring out which linesets to use while still leaving room for electrics. Each act is a full scene change, with lines flying in and out, and scenery being moved on and offstage.
Early on in the design process I pitched the idea of the houseboat in Act 3 moving while the actors were fighting on it, something which we all talked about at length. I wanted to give more movement to the scenery and breathe some life into the act, but it took awhile to figure out how. We decided to have the front of the boat's hull be a facade, which the actors could move to act as the rapids.
1/4" Scale model
1/4" Scale model
1/4" Scale model
1/4" Scale model
1/4" Scale model
Designed by Raven Gautreaux.
Model
I built the model as I was finishing all of the paperwork, to keep them as consistent with eachother as possible. The Act 1 scene pictured here is missing all the shrubbery that we added, and the Act 3 images are missing the stained glass windows that we had in the show. My assistant scenic designer, Raven Gautreaux, was in charge of designing these stained glass window patterns for Act 3. Because it is set in a re-claimed church, we thought it would be fitting thematically if the characters in the world fashioned their own stained glass with Simpsons iconography.
Pictures
The Woods.
The very end as the boat opens to reveal Mr. Burns.
Photos taken by Terry Cyr