Cohesive Contrasts: A Closer Look at McKay Coble's Scenic Design for An Enemy of the People

An  early sketch of McKay's design.

An Enemy of the People takes place in a Norwegian town circa 1950. McKay Coble's scenic design puts the audience directly in this specific setting by utilizing contrasts between a stark, industrial water feature and an inviting family home.

In order to reflect the action of the play, her design incorporates muted greys alongside brighter colors to symbolize the pessimistic versus the optimistic. On one hand there's the idealistic Dr. Stockmann, morally prepared to do the right thing. On the other is his brother, Peter, repressing the truth for the sake of money and self-interest.

McKay explains, "There's this nugget of idealism with Dr. Stockmann and his family, which I've tried to portray as a sunny, warm, cohesive environment where everything fits together. Their comfortable home contrasts with a grey outside world that threatens to fall apart at any moment."

The Stockmanns' charming 1950s home. Photo by Curtis Brown.

McKay's aim is to create a space in which truth can unfold. Her detailed design allows the actors to discover their reality. And, as always, she's gone above and beyond, fine tuning to be accurate to the time period and support the work of the ensemble onstage.

Look for childhood photos of cast members adapted to fit the era, and notepads, not left blank, but filled with stories to keep the actors engaged in their craft! Details like this are indicative of McKay's meticulous approach to design and her ability to give the actors a realistic space to create, discover, and live in the moment.

Some truly remarkable elements of McKay's scenic design are the set transforms as plot and characters evolve. A monumental transition occurs when the Stockmanns' cozy living room fades into the background and a newspaper office rises to become the focal point. This transition parallels the shift of public opinion away from Dr. Stockmann and in favor of his conniving but impeccably dressed brother, Peter.

The transition from the Stockmann home to the newspaper office. Pictured: Benjamin Curns and Gregory DeCandia. Photo by Curtis Brown.

The water feature surrounding the Stockmanns' home proves to be a stand-out piece of the production. Because water is so integral to the plot, McKay felt it was a necessity to the scenic design. And the moat-like segment of the set is not just there for looks, it serves an important purpose. When the action shifts away from the Stockmanns' home to the office of the town newspaper water begins to fall from piping in the ceiling, changing the mood of the play from happy-go-lucky to ominous and eerie, causing the audience to question what's to come.

Just as his brother, the newspaper, and the townspeople turn on Dr. Stockmann, so does the water. Following a one-sided debate, Dr. Stockmann is bombarded by an unsavory crowd that removes grates from the edge of the set, scoops water from the trough, and throws it in his face. This moment in the play serves as a snapshot of the troubles yet to come for the Stockmann family.

McKay felt the water could represent the truth that's being kept hidden from the townspeople. She explained, "The truth could not be contained, just as the water could not be contained."

The mob entering the Stockmann home. Photo by Curtis Brown.

The feasibility of destroying set pieces presented a challenge to McKay. Once Peter announces that Dr. Stockmann is to be labeled "an enemy of the people," the unrelenting mob takes its aggression out on the Stockmann home. They enter with weapons, and when they're done what was once the safe nest of this loving family appears leveled and torn apart. McKay's design set the stage as the actors embody a whirlwind of destruction, creating a shocking scene that propels the story to climatic heights.

See McKay Coble's fantastic set for yourself. Book your tickets for An Enemy of the People - onstage through March 15!

Click here for more info or call our box office at 919.962.7529.

Trouble in Mind: Dress Rehearsal

The cast of Trouble in Mind performed their final dress rehearsal last night! Here's a peek below. The show is in previews now and will be running at PlayMakers through Feb 8.

Also, listen to the premiere episode of Thank You 10, a UNC Department of Dramatic Art Podcast created by PlayMakers company member, Gregory DeCandia. Episode 1 spotlights Trouble in Mind and features conversations with Director Jade King Carroll, Lighting Designer Kathy A. Perkins, and Actors Myles Bullock and Suzette Azariah Gunn.


 

KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer and SCHUYLER SCOTT MASTAIN as Al Manners
(Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins, SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis and CAREY COX as Judy Sears (Photo by Jon Gardiner) 

L to R: KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer, ROGER ROBINSON as Sheldon Forrester, MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins, CAREY COX as Judy Sears and SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins and CAREY COX as Judy Sears (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis, JEFFREY BLAIR CORNELL as Bill O’Wray and SCHUYLER SCOTT MASTAIN as Al Manners (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

ROGER ROBINSON as Sheldon Forrester (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer and SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis
(Photo by Jon Gardiner)

PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of “Trouble in Mind” by Alice Childress.
January 21 – February 8, 2015. Directed by Jade King Carroll.

Call 919-962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org.
 

PlayMakers adds Nov. 29 performance of ‘Into the Woods’

Photo by Jon Gardiner

PlayMakers Repertory Company announces that due to popular demand the theater has added a holiday performance to the schedule of its hit production “Into the Woods.” The Thanksgiving Weekend performance will be on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

The Stephen Sondheim musical has received audience and critical acclaim calling the PlayMakers’ production “oh-so-right” “outshines the original” (The News & Observer), “fantastical, fabulous and foreboding fun” (Triangle Arts & Entertainment), “a wonder” (The Daily Tar Heel) and “in a word, enchanting” (The Five Points Star).


“Into the Woods” is a multiple Tony Award-winning musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The show was originally directed on Broadway by James Lapine with orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.


Beginning with a childless couple, a witch and a curse, “Into the Woods” reveals the shadow side of classic fairytales by the Brothers Grimm in a funny and poignant exploration of the wishes we make, and what happens when they really do come true.

Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj directs. He has directed some of PlayMakers’ most popular entertainments including musicals “Cabaret” and “Big River.”

“Into the Woods” is presented through Dec. 7 in rotating repertory with William Shakespeare’s beloved romantic comedy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Tickets are still available to both shows individually or as part of PlayMakers’ 2014/15 subscription packages. For a complete schedule, more information and to purchase tickets, call the PlayMakers Box Office at (919) 962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org.

Performances are in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC’s Department for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road, Chapel Hill. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Indroducing the Assassins: Leon Czolgosz

“Guilty.”

Leon Czolgosz

Leon Czolgosz was born Detroit to Polish immigrants in 1873. Raised in Cleveland, he held a succession of menial jobs, including grueling employment at a bottle factory, before committing himself to anarchism. After a nervous breakdown at twenty-five, Czolgosz left home and pursued his political cause more methodically. Czolgosz frequently went by the alias of Fred C. Nieman (German for “Nobody”), as he traveled in radical circles, at one time having a brief introduction in a railway station to the American socialist activist Emma Goldman. Czolgosz shot President William McKinley at point-blank range in the Temple of Music exhibit at Buffalo’s Pan-American Exposition on September 6, 1901. Upon his arrest Czolgosz defended his crime, arguing “McKinley was going around the country shouting about prosperity when there was no prosperity for the poor man.” When pressed for further justification, Czolgosz tersely maintained, “I only done my duty.” The single word “guilty” would be all Czolgosz would say in his own person at his trial, a plea that would be ignored by the presiding judge given the context of a capital case. He was executed two months later in the electric chair at the age of twenty-eight. Just before burial, prison officials poured sulfuric acid on his body to ensure is swift decomposition.

Gregory DeCandia

Gregory DeCandia portrays Leon Czolgosz in Assassins. This is his his fourth PlayMakers production this season. He was also in Metamorphoses, The Tempest, and Private Lives.

Don't miss all the action, catch Assassins before the curtain drops! To purchase tickets, visit the PlayMakers website, or call (919) 962-PLAY (7529). 

Dress Rehersal for "Assassins"

The Ensemble in Assassins. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

The assassins are ready to take the stage. With opening night just a few days away, PlayMakers is ready to introduce its cast of sharp-shooting, cake-dancing, butterfingered, misguided souls, who sing and dance their way towards the American Dream. Stephen Sondheim gives voice in Assassins to these disaffected protagonists with the wit and complex emotional portraits his work is renowned for.

Check out these pictures from the final dress rehearsal of Assassins. Assassins will be running at PlayMakers from April 2-20. Click here to get your tickets!

JOSEPH MEDEIROS as Guiseppe Zangara. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

The Ensemble in Assassins. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

JULIE FISHELL as Sara Jane Moore, DANNY BINSTOCK as John Wilkes Booth, JEFFREY MEANZA as Charles Guiteau and GREGORY DeCANDIA as Leon Czolgosz. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

JEFFREY MEANZA as Charles Guiteau. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

The Ensemble in Assassins. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

PATRICK McHUGH as Lee Harvey Oswald, DANNY BINSTOCK as John Wilkes Booth. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

DANNY BINSTOCK as John Wilkes Booth. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

MAREN SEARLE as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme and JULIE FISHELL as Sara Jane Moore. Photo by Jon Gardiner.