Dice: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

By William Shakespeare

Scenic Design

Directed by Leo Lion

July-August 2024

Lighting Design by Montse Garza, Costume Design by Alex Mellor, Props Design by Ro Miller

2024 Gregory Award Nominee for Scenic Design

Shakespeare's most magical story, in an immersive space and played with a different cast every night.

A troupe of hapless artists must put on the show of their lives, but rehearsal in the woods quickly gets out of hand when warring fairies and heartsick lovers stumble into play. In Dice: A Midsummer Night's Dream 14-show run, no two casts are the same! The design for the show brought the audeince along for the journey as we start inside the historic Glen Hughes Penthouse theater in-the-round, then move outside to the archery field when the characters leave Athens and venture into the forests beyond.

The Scenic Design was inspired by director Leo Lion’s vision for a playful vintage circus inspired take on Midsummer. When I heard that the Glen Hughes Penthouse Theater was a venue option, I jumped at the opportunity to pitch a roving production with three stages. Indoors for Act 1, Outside on a massive 70’x50’ abandoned circus grounds for Acts 2-4, and Outside looking up at the Glen Hughes’ balcony for Act 5. I was also inspired buy the large archery wall in the field behind the Glen Hughes, and incorporated distressed and aged wood into all aspects of the design. 16 foot tall wooden poles were constructed to appear as if a circus had up and left in a hurry, leaving their tent poles to fall apart and form fairy gates for Titania and Oberon to thrive.

Additionally, thirteen movable “branches” were created to be taken from stage to stage by the fairies and even a few audience members each night. These branches are also our through line for the design, as one of the only scenic elements inside, hanging above the stage from magnets attched to thin fishing line. When the branches move outside, stage management secured them into holes drilled into the poles on the Acts 2-5 stage, as if they had grown from within.