Bouncers Paint Elevation, 1rst draft

This is the first version of the pain elevation for Bouncers. It's coming along well, but I'm not happy with it yet. In terms of rendering technique, there are several things I'd like to do to improve this plate. BUT. It's headed in the right direction. Scummy, decrepit, worn down, urban. More coming soon!

Desire Under the Elms - Concept Sketch

Working on concepts for Desire Under the Elms. Worked about 3 hours first creating a floorplan, sketching this out, then painting it digitally.

It's a simple approach, a slightly raised platform, with wood flooring, the facade of a house behind, with suspended elms and a cyc behind that. The stove stays onstage the whole time, but the chaise and other furniture is moved off and on for every scene. The spare nature of the set is due in part to the $300 projected budget.

Bouncers Sketch no. 3

Sketch 3 of Bouncers, just approved by the director. Next, I'll do a 1/2 inch paint elevation for director approval as well.

You can see on the sketch that elements from the first two were combined for this version. I also scanned this image in, instead of just taking a digital photo, so the image quality and color is better now.

Bouncers By John Godber - sketches round 1

Hey All.

I've started my MFA in Scenic Design at the University of Alabama, and begun work on my first design for their season there; Bouncers. It's a design for a non-decor (read: little to no budget) production in their intimate thrust stage theatre space, the Allen Bales Theatre, directed by MFA Director Marian Mantovani.

Here is the show blurb:

Bouncers by John Godber

Comedy 4M (multiple role-playing) Bare stage

Bursting with imagination and wit and presented by just four actors, Bouncers is an outrageous and hilarious parody of the disco scene. The four brutish bouncers of the title portray over twenty different characters as we are invited for a night out on the town. We see them as giggly girls and lads on the make preparing for the big night out as we follow their progress to the disco floor. There, we also meet an entire cross-section of disco-goers, including Hooray Henrys, pogoing punks and drunken slobs! The evening's events are set against the tatty glitzy glamour, flashing lights and pulsating beat of the nightclub scene. An exhilarating night out for all concerned. `Consistently entertaining.' - Evening Standard. `Bouncers is brilliant.' - Daily Mail.

There are several versions of the show floating about, but we are doing the 1990's remix, with a few updates.

We needed an flexible outside/inside space that would allow for a totally open staging. The director and I wanted to use four beer kegs as the primary scenic units – all seating, and physical skullduggery done with these kegs-everything else- mimed. We wanted a variety of entrance and exit, and to present the "scummiest place in York" as the pub the play takes place in and around is described. It must be at once glitzy and grimy. In the shadowy world of pubs, bars, and danceclubs, you can be anybody and do anything- but this also means that you are nobody and anything can happen to you.

Here is the first set of sketches that I presented to the director.

These sketches were the product of 2-3 mtgs- we had established that we wanted to see these two separate ideas and had discussed them thoroughly.

We started the process by talking about what the play meant to us, and then we went through a big collection of image research I put together and picked what worked best. We both traded a legal pad back and forth in our meetings before these sketches, scribbling what things might look like. Show budget is about $500 but I'm designing with almost entirely stock units in mind. Sketch no. 2 is the one we are working from- with some more elements, like that ventilation pipe in the no. 1. The doors in the center doorway slide (instead of swinging) open, and also serve as doors for the other two doorways, which provide a variety of entrance and staging opportunities on a tight budget.

You can buy tickets to the show online at:
http://www.as.ua.edu/theatre/calendar.html

If you want more information on Bouncers or playwright John Godber check out these websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Godber
http://www.bbc.co.uk/humber/content/articles/2005/05/11/picture_of_britain_john_godber_feature.shtml

More to come soon!