Rent

Scenic Design, 2018

This space was meant to give the director as many options for levels and interesting spacing options as possible while keeping structures low profile for larger movements on the stage floor. Using a mixture of scaffolding and custom platforms, the structures were meant to feel industrial, raw, and brutalist. Echoing the look of building scaffolding, fire escapes, and exterior piping found throughout NYC, the main platform structure against an exposed cement wall upstage was intended to create a look of busyness and cluttered intersecting lines.

To make use of the full vertical space, two large flats stretching from the stage floor to above the proscenium on either side of the stage. These massive, looming pillars emblematic of skyscrapers and high-rises were plastered with graffiti, posters, and other remanence of Alphabet City’s artists' works. The electrical line-sets were intentionally low enough to be seen by the audience, and LED lighting pieces on the scaffolding and pillars were used to lean in to the rock-show nature of Rent.