Alabama Story - Scenic Design

“What stories are being told, and how does censorship benefit people in power?”

To display the suppression of voices within this play, I took inspiration from the Alabama Department of Archives for a visual representation of the overbearing nature of the society in which these characters live. The pediment was detached from the building and hanging over the playing space, containing both the actors and the audience in this structure.

Changes in location were achieved using periaktoi as the columns on the building. They displayed the columns, a park, and Emily's office. This allowed for scenes to take place in multiple locations at once, as dictated in the script. The art on these rotating units was inspired by the work of Margaret Burroughs and Lois Mailou Jones, Black women of the time period, as well as the artwork in the children's book The Snowy Day.

Additional storage space was built into the platforming and concealed with sliding doors, allowing scenic changes to happen quickly and seamlessly, and integrating all furniture pieces into the unit set.