SCENIC/LIGHTING DESIGN
The Beloved
Dearly
Zona Gale
Theatre
Portage
Center for the Arts
Portage, WI
September, 2004
Director: Dr. Xan Johnson
Ernie discusses pet caskets with Dusty, the artist.
Tony, aka "Kid-with-a-shovel" discovers a Barbie head, and waxes Shakespearean.
The big finish to a fine pet funeral.
<>Ernie and his dog, Mr. Doggie, admire the night sky.
Production Notes:
Ernie is the 12 year old entrepreneur in the pet funeral business. Dusty makes the coffins. Tony digs the holes. The only thing they're lacking is a crier; someone to make the kids feel like they got their money's worth. Swimming Pool, a local tomboy, delivers and business goes through the roof - until a squabble over money makes Swimming Pool become a crier for hire. After Ernie's pet dies, however, he realizes life is too short and reunites the gang - this time as friends first.
The set was based on a local answer to the question, "where would a kid bury a bunch of pets in Portage." A deserted, mostly run down building on the edge of a downtown residential district fit the bill perfectly. We deconstructed the already decomposing structure, picking and adapting prime pieces for the stage. The dilapidated facade served well as a background as well as a metaphor for the broken and empty view of life Ernie followed. (What doesn't show in the photos that worked supremely on stage was wire that was bent to represent the edge of broken glass. At every talk back session we got the question - "is that really broken glass?")
The lighting was more or less an approximation of realism - day scenes and night scenes. The practical over the door was especially effective in the night moments, giving the facade an even emptier look.
