The Insect Play
By the Brothers Capek
Directed by Marty Aikens
This was a "mock show" that I read and designed as if it were to be performed as the basis of a theatre design class I took in the fall of 2023. My classmates and I were to treat the show as if it were going to be put on and directed by our professor, hence the term "mock show." For most of my design classes, we use(d) a website called Miro, which allows us to put all of our research information in one place where it can be viewed by our classmates and professor.
"This world is a magical museum."
I chose this as my metaphor statement due to the almost anthology-like nature of this play. The play follows a linear timeline, but each act takes place in a different location with different characters, the only constant being the Tramp character. This reminds me of a museum, and how you can see several different parts of history or different types of media, but it is all encompassed by the museum itself.
Costume Design
I wanted to stay true to the 1920s Czech roots of this play by having my costumes reflect the time period and location, however, I ended up leaning more towards late '20s - early '30s fashion in America. I think the angular silhouette lended itself better to the shapes I had in mind for these characters.
The characters in this play are also based off of real bugs, which is right up my alley. I adore insects, especially butterflies and moths, so it was important to me that each character reflected the type of bug they were described as in the text. (Disclaimer: I do not claim to own any of my research images. They were all sourced from the internet.)
Scenic and Lighting
I was tasked to choose two scenes from the play to design sets for. I ended up going with the second scene and the epilogue. The scenes themselves were not described with much detail in the script, but from the text I was able to gather that the second scene took place in a sort of aristocratic common space, and the epilogue took place in a dark part of the forest. I decided to take inspiration from the Tinker Bell movies for the second scene, leaning into a sort of "lost things" look for the tree. I wanted it to be unclear to the viewer whether the tree was something created by the butterflies, or just a tree that they decorated. I carried this theme into the bottle cap barstools. I also wanted to reflect the vain and luxurious qualities of the butterflies in the set. I put several mirrors on the tree with the idea that the butterflies could primp while they chat at the bar. I also took inspiration from my aunt's backyard and added chandeliers hanging from the branches of the tree. I've always loved the idea of outdoor chandeliers, and I think it adds a sort of superfluous flair to the scene that the characters really seem to embody.
I tried to lean into a bioluminescent theme for the epilogue. I really liked the idea of a glowing blue stream and a sort of extraterrestrial feeling environment since the characters in this scene, the moths, have sort of alien qualities themselves.
The models I created are in 1/2" scale and are made to fit a scale model of the Burke-Hawthorne Theatre at UL.
