We're about 2 weeks from opening night for Mr. Marmalade and I'm pretty excited to see the final result of my set design mixed with the furniture, props, and lighting.
A little bit about the play: Lucy is a four-year-old girl with a very active imagination. Unfortunately, her imaginary friend Mr. Marmalade doesn't have much time for her. Not to mention he beats up his personal assistant, has a cocaine addiction, and a penchant for pornography and very long dildos. Larry, her only real friend, is the youngest suicide attempt in the history of New Jersey. MR. MARMALADE is a savage black comedy about what it takes to grow up in these difficult times.
It has been a really great project to work on and I loved coming up with solutions to a handful of challenges - most of them the usual challenges of working in the theatre: a unique sized stage, small budget, and tiny (but dedicated) crew.
My other challenge was to find a way to design an environment that kept the audience within a similar mindset of the lead character - a 4-year-old girl. By giving the set a kid's hand-drawn look, raising the normal height for the wainscot paneling, large wide wood panel flooring, and a slightly larger custom-made door. My hope is that this will help the adult actors playing the child age characters a feeling of being small in a big world.
What I love most about set design is the opportunity to help the actors and the audience believe in the world they are witnessing/experiencing for that short 2-hour window.
Mr. Marmalade opens March 2, 2018
Stuart Rogers Studios 5267 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA 91601
Find Tickets and information here: SRS Production Wing
Some photos of the journey:
- Rough Sketch of the stage
- Wall mock-ups
Completed set.