Student play morphs from idea to ideal

From creative use of fabric to provocative body movement, the student theater’s version of Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” promises an experience reminiscent of a Cirque du Soleil performance.\nBefore the doors of the Wells-Metz Theatre unlock for opening night Friday, theatergoers can sneak a behind-the-scenes peek at the team creating the set design and construction for the contemporary play based on stories from Greek mythology.\nBecause Zimmerman’s play was meant to have a 3-foot pool of water on stage, a creative team had to overcome quite an obstacle before beginning the design process.\n“Initially, in the conceptual phase, dealing with not having the swimming pool was difficult. Once I cracked that nut, it all got a little easier,” director John Maness said. “We also took a very different take on the rehearsal process. Because of the movement, use of masks and props, we spent a couple of weeks just training the actors’ bodies (to take on the illusion of being in water).”\nDesigning the set began eight to nine weeks before anything was built in the shop.\nGraduate student Hyunsuk Shin, head of set design, worked together with other graduate students and faculty members to create a set that maintained the flowing feel of a pool-less stage.\n“It was most difficult to make people have strong energy without water,” Shin said. “We used simple colors and curved and straight lines. Simple is a very big thing. After the show, I hope (the audience) can think that this is a really good show without water, too.”\nSet design continued while construction began in the shop. Mary Weber, a graduate student and master carpenter, works along with professors Chris Berg and Fred Duer to teach the undergraduate students in the lab portion of the T125 Intro to Theatrical Production class how to build and paint the set.\n“Overall, there has been a feeling of excitement (from the students), working from start to finish and seeing the finished product,” Weber said.\nDuring the lab portion of the course, students are trained in the process of designing scenery and building techniques before diving into actual construction. After basic skills are learned, the students are recruited to help in the physical creation of the set.\n“As for goals as an instructor, there are several levels,” Duer said “For me, this is the very beginning, so what I want to do is excite (the students) about theater. They all know about acting, but it is important to learn all aspects of theater,” Duer said.\nWith the collaborative work among professors, grad students and undergrads, the set of “Metamorphoses” made the journey from concept to completion.\n“Being able to create something and watch it grow is the best,” Weber said. “It is about seeing it grow from a pile of lumber into something artistic.”