Set Design

Set design

I chose to have one set design for the flat because I want to enhance the feeling of being confined and uncomfortable. The entrance to the Kowalski flat is framed by two decaying pillars I tried to place the pillars between blanches bed and the poker table and on the border between the living room and the bedroom. I don’t really have walls for their flat, in stead tried to draw splintery bits of wood jutting our from the trim to suggest walls and their decay, the jagged pieces are reflective of Stanley’s personality and foreshadows violence. I situated the collapsible bed and Stella and Stanley’s bed against the same bit of wall, this will help show the divide between rooms but also show the conflict between Blanche and Stanley and sexual tension between them. I show the door to the bathroom on the right side of the house just to the left of the staircase, I don’t actually show the interior of the bathroom only the door because that’s kind of a ghost room. Eunice’s flat upstairs is a bit more covered up as most of the conflict occurs down stairs. It still has the decayed bits of wood to imply walls but there is less exposure. There is a window whose curtains can be drawn and a door, which can be shut; this slightly increased privacy will make it easier to emphasize the Kowalski residence. But also the visually more solid looking flat sitting on top of the more exposed looking flat will create the feeling of claustrophobia and vulnerability in the flat below. The staircase struggled to get right. Stairs are used through out the play so I had to put it very much facing the front but I also couldn’t block the view of the Kowalski’s house so I used a curved staircase which didn’t have any harsh angles to obstruct the view of the house. The curved staircase also had a tenderer feminine feel which contrast with the jagged wood splinters. In Stella and Stanley’s making up scene, conveying this kind of tenderness in contrast with the violence of the previous scene is essential, the stairs would help convey this. Lastly on the top of Eunice’s apartment I went heavy on the fancy gables, which can be symbolize how blanches presence there weighed down on everyone and, her romantic past is constantly weighing down on her. At about the same height as the gables I have silhouettes of modern buildings contrasting with the old fashioned romantic looking gables.