Undergraduate Designs | jennahouckdesigns

Last Summer at Bluefish Cove

Selected to travel to KCACTF Region 5 Festival 46

Production Photos

Design Statement:

My scenic design created an intimate environment in which this sentimental story can take place, while allowing the audience feel like a part of these close moments. Walls break apart to reveal inside and underneath, a reflection of key relationships in the story. Some aspects are absent or abstracted slightly, to create the effect of memory. For example, the masking is basic and bare, there is no special floor covering behind the sand, and the stage is left in an organic yet structured shape. Texture was extremely important. I experimented with sand, rough hewn wood, and textiles, to create the detail necessary for this setting.

Preliminary Photoshop Rendering

White Model

Research Images

Drafting

White Baby

Production Photos

Design Statement:

My concept for this show was inspired heavily by the Swedish origin of the playwright, Sofia Fredén. Foggy colors and modular, utilitarian design was especially intriguing. From there, I was drawn to the idea of opportunity. The opportunities that the baby provides the family to reconnect is displayed with the doors being removed and leaving open spaces in the door frames. With this new opportunity also comes the struggle that the baby also brings to the family as they try and dodge the responsibility that a child means. This is symbolized by the doors remaining on stage and used as furniture. As the family learns to accept the child and even seek it out, they also learn that what was once a burden can be fulfilling to their lives.

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Watercolor and Pencil Rendering

Research Images

White Model

Groundplan

Dance Concert: Off the Record

Design Statement:

To begin this process, first I learned about each choreographer’s approach and their take on the integration of culture, music, and dance. I was inspired by the cornucopia of symbolic movement and music in the show, and incorporated the same variety of symbols into my design. Each painting and symbol within the scenery directly correlates to one of the dances and choreographer’s vision. The goal was to transition smoothly among many different cultures, forms, and time periods into a unified piece.