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A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM 
SET & COSTUME DESIGN

By William Shakespeare, Adapted by Victoria Gartner

Holroyd Community Theatre, British Youth Music Theatre 2022

Director - Victoria Gartner

Composer, Musical Director & Digital Producer- Joel Hall

Set & Costume Design - Alexandra Kay

Lighting designer - Mitch Broomhead

Photographs - BYMT

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Delving into the magical world of a Midsummer nights dream was exciting, setting it between a dystopian greyscale Athens and a colourful, Welsh-inspired fae forest gave a lot of room for playful exploration. Working with a cast of 38 young people, a professional creative team working in Musical theatre and as a creative trainee with BYMT, over a two week period I fully designed and realised a production. I worked with the young people, letting them explore the design process alongside me, bringing their vision of the show to life, from design ideas to making their own props and rendering the set. Exploring Facilitation alongside my design process was something I brought forward from previous work . They had ownership of their production and it was wonderful inviting them into my world as Victoria wanted to create a very open and collaborative environment, to make Shakespeare inviting and exciting for our young cast.

 

RESEARCH & PROCESS

DESIGN DRAWINGS​

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The inspiration came from our location. Working on the show in Oswestry, we were very close to Pistyll Rhaeadr, the highest waterfall in Wales and very attached to Celtic folklore and myth. It is said a faery graveyard lies at the top, and the border into the fae realm is hidden there. I drew from the ideas of faery bridges rings, and the poster image for the production. The set was to be sparse and grey for Athens, blocky and bare, before the forest brings us into a world of colour and life with the lovers bringing a touch of the natural and magical back with them.

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The costumes for the mechanicals and Athenians came from a contemporary aesthetic, turned into a very flat and monochrome colour palette. The faery folk came from the colours of the Love Flower, a purple and green, and the colours we found on our journey to the top of the waterfall.

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