An Illiad

Show Title: An Iliad (Based on Homer's The Iliad)

Playwrights: Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare

Space: Luesther Hall

Description: This is a paper project I did for my second-year set design class at NYU. We were tasked with presenting a set design with renderings and a rough massing model. I used this project to develop a more coherent rendering process.

Process: Emotional Response > Brainstorm/Concept Map > Modelbox Exploration> Visual Research> Use Model Picture to Draw Design > Edit and Render in Photoshop

FINAL RENDERINGS
*Press on the images to expand and hover for the caption.

Rage & Blood: Golden liquid bleeds out of tubes

Loss & Grief: Cold Blue lighting with mirror tubes

In a fit of rage the narrator strangles the tree with the tubes

Reflection: Desolate space in between loss and rage of war

Golden liquid in tubes is revealed

$Mirror tubes reflecting and refracting narrator$

Mirror tubes reflecting and refracting narrator

CONCEPT EXPLANATIONS

Fig Tree Strangler

Two Way Mirror with Gold Liquid Tubes

Ancient Greek Theatron-style Audience Seating

Throughout the story, the narrator is burdened by the knowledge of war. They retell the story each night to a new audience that will then leave and go on to repeat the cycle of destruction.

The play mentions the symbol of a fig tree. Figs are not only the tree of knowledge but also strangle other trees with their roots. Hence, they are representative of knowledge as both a burden and power.

The tubes are two-way mirrors that reveal a golden substance when they glow from the inside. The latter pulsates through the tubes like the blood of the gods.

The seating for the audience is meant to mimic that of a Greek Theatron. This way the audience observes the destruction that the narrator is discussing for their own entertainment.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE/MOOD BOARDS