SCENE DESIGN FOR SPRING AWAKENING: A POST-MODERN APPROACH A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts by Holly M. Breuer May 2013 Thesis written by Holly M. Breuer B.F.A., Syracuse University, 2008 M.F.A., Kent State University, 2013 Approved by ______________________, Advisor Raynette Halvorsen Smith ______________________, Director, School of Theatre and Dance Cynthia R. Stillings ______________________, Dean, College of the Arts John R. Crawford ii TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………………….. iii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 II. SCRIPT ANALYSIS AND RESPONSE .......................................................................... 3 Context…. ..................................................................................................................... 3 Original Script Versus Musical Libretto ....................................................................... 4 Personal Response ........................................................................................................ 6 III. DIRECTOR’S CONCEPT ............................................................................................... 8 IV. AESTHETIC CHOICES ................................................................................................. 9 V. REALIZATION .............................................................................................................. 12 Approach . ……………………………………………………………………………12 Implementation ........................................................................................................... 13 Technical Rehearsals .................................................................................................. 15 VI. SELF EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION............................................................... 17 Self Evaluation ............................................................................................................ 17 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 19 APPENDIXES A: PRELIMINARY SKETCHES AND MODEL PHOTOGRAPHS ................................. 21 B: PAINTER’S ELEVATIONS .......................................................................................... 24 C: COMPLETE SET OF DRAFTINGS ............................................................................. 27 D: CONSTRUCTION DETAILS ........................................................................................ 35 E: SCENE-BY-SCENE STORYBOARDS ......................................................................... 42 F: PANEL SHIFT SHEET ................................................................................................... 56 G: PROJECTIONS CUE SHEET ........................................................................................ 60 H: COMPLETE SCRIPT ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 69 I: SELECTED PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHS ............................................................. 78 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 91 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Sub-Apron Platform……………………………………………………….………..…..22 2. AutoCAD Three-dimensional drawing of Central Platforms…………………….….…24 3. Panels on Paint Frame……………………………………………………………………25 4. Early Sketch 1……………………………………………………………………………29 5. Early Sketch 2……………………………………………………………………………29 6. Early Sketch 3……………………………………………………………………………29 7. Early Sketch 4……………………………………………………………………………29 8. Intermediary Digital Render………………………………………………………..……29 9. Intermediary Digital Render 2…………………………………………………………...29 10. Quarter Inch Scale Working Model……………………………………………….……..30 11. Scale Working Model with Sample Projection Digitally Added………………….…….30 12. Half Scale Panel Mock Up……………………………………………………………….32 13. Floor Sample Elevation………………………………………………………………….33 14. Groundplan (Not To Scale)………………………………………………………………35 15. Section (Not To Scale) ………………………………………..…………………………36 16. Unit Details (Not To Scale) ………………………………..……………………………37 17. Platform Details (Not To Scale) …………………….……………..……………………38 18. Orchestra Platform Detail (Not To Scale) ………………………………………………39 19. Catwalk Detail (Not To Scale) ………………………………..…………………………40 20. Panel Details (Not To Scale) ……………………………………………………………41 21. Storyboard Plate 1…………………………………………………………….…………43 iv 22. Storyboard Plate 2…………………………………………………………….…………43 23. Storyboard Plate 3…………………………………………………………….…………44 24. Storyboard Plate 4…………………………………………………………….…….……44 25. Storyboard Plate 5…………………………………………………………….….………45 26. Storyboard Plate 6…………………………………………………………….…….……45 27. Storyboard Plate 7…………………………………………………………….…….……46 28. Storyboard Plate 8…………………………………………………………….…….……46 29. Storyboard Plate 9…………………………………………………………….……….…47 30. Storyboard Plate 10………………………………………………………….….…..……47 31. Storyboard Plate 11………………………………………………………….….…..……48 32. Storyboard Plate 12………………………………………………………….….…..……48 33. Storyboard Plate 13………………………………………………………….……...……49 34. Storyboard Plate 14………………………………………………………….……...……49 35. Storyboard Plate 15………………………………………………………….……...……50 36. Storyboard Plate 16………………………………………………………….……...……50 37. Storyboard Plate 17………………………………………………………….……...……51 38. Storyboard Plate 18………………………………………………………….……...……51 39. Storyboard Plate 19………………………………………………………….……...……52 40. Storyboard Plate 20………………………………………………………….……...……52 41. Storyboard Plate 21………………………………………………………….……...……53 42. Storyboard Plate 22………………………………………………………….……...……53 43. Storyboard Plate 23………………………………………………………….……...……54 44. Storyboard Plate 24………………………………………………………….……...……54 45. Storyboard Plate 25………………………………………………………….……...……55 46. Storyboard Plate 26………………………………………………………….……...……55 v 47. Top of Show ………………..……………………………………………….……...……79 48. “Mama Who Bore Me”..…………………………………………………….……...……79 49. “All That’s Known”………………………………………………………………...……80 50. “The Bitch of Living”……………………………………………………….……...……80 51. “Touch Me”……………………………………………………………...….……...……81 52. Act 1, Scene 5………………………………………………………….……...…………82 53. Act 1, Scene 7……………………………………………………………….……...……83 54. “The Dark I Know Well”……………………………………………...…….……...……83 55. “And Then There Were None”..…………………………………………….…….....….84 56. “And Then There Were None” end of song..……………………………….……......…84 57. “The Mirror Blue Night”...………………………………………………….……...……85 58. “I Believe”……….………………………………………………………….……...……85 59. “The Guilty Ones”.………………………………………………………….……...……86 60. Act 2, Scene 2……………………………………………………………….……...……86 61. Moritz’s Final Mom.ent.…………………………………………………….……..……87 62. “Left Behind”…….………………………………………………………….……..……87 63. “Totally Fucked” ...………………………………………………………….……..……88 64. “Whispering”…….………………………………………………………….……..……88 65. Act 2, Scene 7…....………………………………………………………….……...……89 66. Act 2, Scene 9……………………………………………………………….……...……89 67. “Song of Purple Summer”………………………………………………….……....……90 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, and foremost, I would like to thank the production team, cast, and crew of Spring Awakening. Without them this show would not have existed as it did and would not have been such a wonderful experience. I would like to thank Michael Rupert for trusting me when I needed him to and Ms. Roe Green for getting us all together in the first place. I would also like to thank my projections programmer, Cyndi Hoffman, and my design assistant, Daniel Ebert, for their dedication, valued opinions, and unrelenting sarcasm. I must also acknowledge what a supportive and challenging team my thesis committee has been throughout this process: Raynette Halvorsen Smith, Jakyung Seo, and Dr. Yuko Kurahashi. Additionally, I would like to say a special thank you to the 2012 Kent M.F.A. class – you adopted me and helped keep me on this path – and to the many family and friends who have supported me over the past three years. vii 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Kent State University produced Spring Awakening during the 2012-2013 academic year under the auspices of the Roe Green Visiting Director Series. The Series celebrated its tenth year with this production, and to commemorate the event Tony- winner Michael Rupert was invited to direct the endeavor. The production team consisted of Lighting Designer Jakyung Seo (Assistant Professor of Lighting), Costume Designer Susan Williams (a graduate student in Costuming), Sound Designer Brian Chismar (a senior undergraduate student), and Stage Manager Kelly Cosgrove (another senior undergraduate student). The show was performed in the E.Turner Stump Theater, a 506- seat proscenium space, from February 15, 2013 through February 24, 2013. Spring Awakening is based on a German drama entitled Frühlings Erwachen, or The Awakening of Spring: A Children’s Tragedy written between 1890 and 1891 by Benjamin Franklin Wedekind. This modern adaptation was conceived by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater in the late 1990s. It was work-shopped for seven years in theaters across the United States from the La Jolla Playhouse to the Baruch College in New York.1 The world