If all the world’s a stage, someone has to set it. In Shakespeare’s day there may not have been much in the way of scenery – some banners and backdrops, and probably some hand props. But even now that set designers have more materials at their disposal, the goal of modern set design remains the same: to translate the text for present day audiences and make the play's words come to life.
Scene designer Eric Appleton is currently working on a show for UW Whitewater: Stephen Sondheim’s classic musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The story requires that audiences are visually transported to both interior and exterior Victorian London.
In this edition of Radio Chipstone, contributor Gianofer Fields joins Appleton in kitchen table conversation about what it takes to develop a set to help the audience connect with the script and the characters:
Gianofer Fields studies material culture at UW-Madison and is the curator of "Radio Chipstone" - a project funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.
