This photo shows the initial idea I had for the set design. Due to the limited access we had for props and set, I made the set as basic as possible.  If the set was extended, to show the outside of the house, I would have had the outside looking very elaborate, this could help reflect on the family, showing how on outside, it appears they have everything, but on the inside they have nothing.

 After creating the basic design, I had an idea of what props I would use.

-          Chairs

-          Candelabra with candles

-          Fan

-          Handkerchief

-          Feather duster

-          Table

-          Artificial flowers

-          Vase

-          Bookcase, Book

-         17^th century French furniture, or close to that.

-          Cushions

-          Furniture coverings

Due to the limited resources, not all of these props were used. But I thought the final product of the set design was effective, and got my message across. I chose artificial flowers to be in centre stage, to expose the artificiality of the family.        

 As part of the set design process, the backdrop had to be painted, as a group, we decided to paint it white, just to create the illusion of the stage looking better, and also to suit other future productions held by our school.

 The side tables placed next to the chairs balanced out the set design, making it look more centered. The chairs on the right, in the picture below are placed downstage. Orgon is the only character to use these two chairs, and it is a reflection on how much power he has in the play, in comparison to Dorine and Mariane. The green material on the chairs on the left represents the hope Mariane had that her father would let her marry Valere. The contrasting red on the other side, blocks out this hope and shows the battle between the father and daughter.

During the set design process, measurements had to be done, and drawing a scaled map of the stage had to be done. This wasn’t my favourite part of the set design, but I learnt that this is a very important job, because it gives us the exact location of the props, which helps when the stage is rearranged for other purposes. 

 

 The photo above is the final photo of the set design.  The purple table covering was actually a skirt, but I thought it suited the set design quite well, considering the limited resources.

 If I had a less restricted budget and more resources, I would have liked to use Elaborate, antique furniture, that would add elegance to the set design, which would help the audience establish more information about the family.

The set design kit given to me, to help me with the design, wasn’t as useful as it could have been. Due to its contents being based on the idea that the set designer actually has to manufacture and build the set. Whereas, I only had to find props, and place the furniture in certain positions on the stage. Although I made use of the Set Design grid, to draw the position of the furniture. This was useful because it made sure the furniture was in the same place every time.

Props were extremely hard to find, and didn’t resemble neoclassical props, but the props used still conveyed the same message and were still useful. The main props used were the feather duster and the handkerchief. If there were more resources available, the feather duster would have been better quality, and the handkerchief would have been pure white, to reflect the innocence of Mariane.

 I chose to do a basic set design because it let me utilise what we had available, but there are so many ideas and options one could have if doing a set design with a higher budget. I would have loved to make the set design more elaborate.

 When I do set designing in the future, I will try to draw more accurate set design grids, and take more photos to keep as a record of the progression of the set.