The Set

This repertory was staged in USC’s Scene Dock Theater. Being a rather small black box space, one of the greatest difficulties of the production was finding room backstage for three shows’ worth of scenery and props.

This space problem was not helped by the number of interchangeable door “plugs” that had to be stored as well.

The only permanent features of the set were the flats making up the three walls and the luan flooring.

Modular Design

In order the make the set more versatile, the scenic designer devised a system of interchangeable “plugs” that could be removed and replaced depending on which show was playing that night. These plugs consisted of door ways, book shelves, windows, and hidden panels. Each of these plugs was held in place by loose pin hinges. This ensured that they would have consistent placement in their frames, did not have to rely on jacks to stay upright, and could not accidentally be slotted into the wrong frame.

The bookshelf plugs sat on castered platforms so they could be rolled in to position. One scene called for an actor to step out of a hidden passage behind the book shelf. A stage hand could simply slide the unit to the side and roll it back into place after the entrance.