Snow College's Production of
Wait Until Dark
by Frederick Knott
Directed by Milinda Weeks
Assistant Director- Casey Lamb
Set Design- Milinda Weeks
Lighting Design- Ari Jamison
Costume Design- Kathleen Hansen
Technical Direction- Trent Bean
Working as a designer and director is a unique opportunity, one that I am grateful to have had. In this instance it allowed me to tailor my set to fit my own specific vision of the show. This script is a fantastic thriller, and my entire goal was to support the beautifully written words.
I knew early on from my reading that I wanted to limit the actors playing space rather dramatically. I designed the set to be quite shallow, only about 12 feet deep from the plaster line, and I also brought the side walls in, extending the proscenium an additional 10 feet. All of this was so that the set would not only support the location of a cramped basement New York apartment, but also help raise tension in the later scenes by creating a claustrophobic feeling. I didn’t want Susy to have anywhere to run.
I also wanted to highlight the textural feeling of the script in the set. I used a lot of mixed textures including; brick, wood, plasters, wallpaper, linoleum, leather, wrought iron. I also asked local artists if they would like to display their photography work on the set, as one of the characters living there is a professional photographer.
I feel that the overall effect not only helped create an authentic location, but also became a beautiful canvas on which I could let me directors mind form beautiful pictures.
Please enjoy,
Milinda Weeks
Research Image. Greenwich Village
Paint Elevations
Digital Photoshop rendering of set
