Below is my process for conceptualizing, directing, and producing “The Addams Family Musical” as a part of Klein Forest High schools' 2019- 2020 season. *All photos and video clips used are from the rehearsal/ build process*
Creating the cigar factory for this production was an exciting opportunity to showcase my technical vision, as it was my first production with Klein Forest High School. After falling in love with the play and observing how the characters began to mirror those in the novel, I wanted to take the setting and push the boundaries of realism. My concept for the set design was to literally immerse the actors in the novel’s world.
Transparency became a central theme in my design. The walls of the cigar factory were lined with “floating” pages from the novel, visually surrounding the characters with its text. The areas outside the factory and the office were constructed with scrim flats, allowing us to use downlighting to reveal secret actions and moments hidden from the other characters on stage.
Having the audience see the novel’s pages framing the walls around the action reinforced the connection between the story and the characters’ lives. This design emphasized the unique synchronization of the novel’s narrative with the unfolding drama, creating a visually compelling and thematically rich experience.