A Lie of the Mind
by Sam Shepard
Directed by: Charlie Oates
Costume Designer: Michelle Hunt Souza Lighting Designer: Chris Lundhal |
University of California San Diego
Theodore and Adele Shank Theatre February 2014 |
|
The only tool we have to understand our present is our own unreliable recollection of the past. Shepard explores this paradox through the conflict between two families following a startling incident of spousal abuse.
The image that the script gave me was of our memory as a storage bin crammed with boxes. Some are well labelled and easily accessed, some are so stuffed with forgotten items that they burst the moment they are opened and some have been pushed to the very back to be forgotten. Pulling inspiration from the sculptures of Marc Giai-Miniet, I created a space out of compartments of memory-laden objects rising from the floor and ultimately floating out of reach as they form the backdrop of the action.
No scenic elements are removed during the play, they are added to the respective family’s historical baggage. The pay phone at the top of the play is folded into one family’s space and the hospital bed is folded into the other’s. Placing the families at opposite ends of a unit set facilitated the rapid cinematic transitions between the two narratives.
The image that the script gave me was of our memory as a storage bin crammed with boxes. Some are well labelled and easily accessed, some are so stuffed with forgotten items that they burst the moment they are opened and some have been pushed to the very back to be forgotten. Pulling inspiration from the sculptures of Marc Giai-Miniet, I created a space out of compartments of memory-laden objects rising from the floor and ultimately floating out of reach as they form the backdrop of the action.
No scenic elements are removed during the play, they are added to the respective family’s historical baggage. The pay phone at the top of the play is folded into one family’s space and the hospital bed is folded into the other’s. Placing the families at opposite ends of a unit set facilitated the rapid cinematic transitions between the two narratives.