This Friday, January 28 2022, the U Department of Theatre opens its latest production, “The Book Club Play.” Written by Karen Zacarias and directed by Penelope Caywood, “The Book Club Play” takes an affectionate look at the people who love books; the books they love; and the heartfelt, hilarious consequences of judging something (or someone) by their cover.
For Ana, everything is going according to plan: good friends, a great job, and a loving husband. When a famous filmmaker selects her Book Club as the subject of his next documentary, what could possibly go wrong? All they have to do is show up, and a state-of-the-art automatic camera will take care of the rest. No crew, no director, just five friends being their “authentic selves.” But when things get a little too authentic, there’s no way to turn off the camera—and no one to hear them if they yell “cut.” A few unexpected book choices and a provocative new club member could be all it takes for Ana’s plans—and everyone else’s—to spin out of control.
What does it take to create the world for this story?
Hours of dedicated design work bringing set, lighting, projections, costumes, and sound to fruition – all led by talented students with design emphases.
Set designer Erin Murphy started her process with taking three passes at the script to gather ideas and inspiration. “The first time is for pure enjoyment, to get to know the characters and plot a little bit. The second time, I go through and look for little indicators of what the playwright would want in the set. The third time was for me to dive into Ana and Rob and figure out what kind of people they are, to figure out what kind of people they are, what kind of house they would live in, and what kind of tchotchkes they would have around,” she said.
After consulting with Caywood, Murphy understood the need for movement within “The Book Club Play.” “It is about a book club, so characters come in and sit down, and talk. Adding movement was important to her, and that gave me lots of ideas to expand on,” she explained. “I thought about how to make a set move in the Babcock, because it is not a proscenium – we don’t have wings. We don’t have space for big set pieces to move on and off. And that’s where the idea of the turntable came.” A rotating set piece remedied the need for movement while still providing the essence of the inside of a home.
The script also requires projections, which is where Ailish Harris came in. “The projections are mainly used to help tell the story and give context,” Harris said. “We leaned toward having them add aesthetic ambiance to scenes, and to help blend the two worlds of theatre and documentary.”
Harris sourced imagery and video clips she felt would augment the show’s ideas. “The imagery and design of it is up for interpretation,” she said. There are only a few times where it is specific like the ocean, or a waterfall.”
"It was the first time I'd seen the whole play in front of me, and as soon as it was done, I was so inspired to get to work. The energy I got from the director as I shared my ideas, and asked questions, was electric. It's a wonderful feeling to be excited for what you're doing.”
- Lilly Stone, sound designer
Since the set and projections go so hand-in-hand, it is important for the designers to have open collaboration.” The majority of prep work was independent, but through production meetings and class we had frequent conversations about what we were each planning,” Harris explained. “In the tech process we did some color balancing to make it all look like it was in the same world. For example, the window screens were really blue because they are LED computer screens, but the lighting was really warm to create the environment of a person’s house.”
Sound designer Lilly Stone took most of her inspiration from the emotional direction of the play. “Sadness, anger, passion, joy – they all sound different to me, and I want to be able to share those feelings accordingly,” she said. “Sometimes I'll sit up in bed with a tune looping in my head that I just have to write down before I forget it. Sometimes someone will drop something, and I liked that noise, and so I try my best to recreate it.”
Because the play takes place entirely in one home, it was important to lighting designer Nikayla Nielson that the light to feel realistic. “I did a lot of research on what light typically looks like in an apartment at different times of the day and what the quality of light is like,” she explained.
Similarly, costume designer Elizabeth Webb wanted the characters to be relatable. “I wanted the characters to feel very realistic, as if they came straight from their various day jobs and walked onto the stage to the book club,” she said. “As a result, the look of each character was pulled from people around me in real life, such as my parents, coworkers, and in the case of one character, what I would wear myself if I were her.”
Although each of the students work tirelessly on their individual piece, there are plenty of moments to feed off the energy of the group.
Stone explained: “I think my favorite moment through it all had to have been watching the designer run. It's a stage in the rehearsals where the talent gives a very rough draft of the production for all the designers to watch so that they can start their work. It was the first time I'd seen the whole play in front of me, and as soon as it was done, I was so inspired to get to work. The energy I got from the director as I shared my ideas, and asked questions, was electric. It's a wonderful feeling to be excited for what you're doing.”
Then of course, during tech week, they all finally get to see how their work has benefitted the piece as a whole – a moment of true gratification each of them mentioned as a highlight.
“One of my favorite moments of the process was the first time we saw all the actors together with the set and lights and projections during tech rehearsal. It is exciting to see your work pay off, and to see how excited the actors and other designers are to see the combined efforts of everyone in one cohesive production,” Webb said.