Theatre Company of Bryan-College Station
Director: Adrienne Dobson
Assistant Director: Bryan Rodarte
Set Design: Cody Arn
Costume Design: Alanna O’Connell
Lighting Design: Kevin LeDone
Scenic Charge: Maleah Miller
Production photos by Vivian Vu
Merrily We Roll Along @ The Theatre Company of Bryan-College Station
This set is a fabulous example of the power of simplicity. Guided by a gorgeous design by Cody Arn, our small but mighty team painted the stage deck and back wall, three large rotating cube-shaped platforms, and a series of giant clock faces. My most significant design challenge for this show was the deck, which our designer specified should be painted as groovy 70s-style arrows that came together and diverged in space in the same way the characters’ lives do over time. In collaboration with our director, we painted paths for our three lead actors to follow in their first entrances.
Another design element I really enjoyed for this set was the large clock faces mounted on the back wall. Ranging in diameter from 1 foot to 8 feet, the clocks provide a striking backdrop for actors and serve as projection surfaces for animated clock hands during the time-traveling transition sequences interspersed throughout the show. I painted each clock face myself, drawing aesthetic inspiration for the numbers’ typefaces from each decade across which the show takes place. I was unexpectedly called upon last-minute to also create animations for the clock hand projections, making this an extra-challenging but ultimately deeply rewarding project.
Merrily We Roll Along @ TTC
Merrily We Roll Along @ TTC
Merrily set, as seen from the lights booth
Big clock ready for install
Merrily set, as seen from the audience
Installing clocks
Painting the deck
