Hamlet: Set Design

Leigh Rohe

Prof Helms

Brit Lit

03-15-2023

Hamlet: Set Design

So, for my unessay project I decided to create a set design for if I was going to be the set designed for a production of Hamlet. So how this set would work is there would be a series of projections, probably around three or four. The main two I focused on for this project were the grand hall and the exterior of the castle. Most of the scenes would be happening in one of these two places. I chose the two towers on the castle because it’s very stereotypical castle-esque. I think it’s important to keep the images almost predictable because I want the audience to really feel that as Hamlet goes mad, he becomes just a story or one with the scenery. The two towers as well as the circular ceiling are very important scenic elements. I go into why the circular ceiling in the “rough design” but basically the circular ceiling is important because it heightens the feelings of anxiety and hopelessness Hamlet feels. The ceiling does this by making sure that everyone involved feels almost trapped.

As for blocking and character interaction with the set, I also did a lot of thinking about this. I would want scenes to start downstage and as the play moves on have them move more upstage so that the audience feels the characters melting into the painting. Blocking is very important in this set. Especially with how the characters move and portray the “melting.” I would want characters to also become slower and almost stickier as the show progresses. When I say stickier, I mean hitting button poses more often and struggling to move.

So, the importance of my project stems from what I heard from a professor and thoroughly believe myself. It’s that, and I am paraphrasing, that you can learn about Shakespeare in a classroom but, you learn from Shakespeare through performance. Shakespeare was written to be performed and when you try and translate it to a traditional, lecture style, classroom sometimes you miss out on key feelings and emotions that the plays evoke. Shakespeare is meant to be picked apart and discussed after you see it performed.

I think that viewing this project through the lens of prepping for an early-stage design meeting really gave me that performance preparation feeling. Obviously my project is a very early stage rough design. Something like this would probably be presented to the technical director very early in the process. I would likr to continue this project by thinking about other works that we have looked at this semester through a set design and theatrical design lens.

Works Cited

“Grand Hall.” The Trades House Virtual Museum, http://www.tradeshousemuseum.org/grand-hall.html. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.

“Medieval Castle Two Towers Turkish Waving Stock Photo 1333069076.” Shutterstock,

www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/medieval-castle-two-towers-turkish-waving-1333069076. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.

“Stock Photos, Vectors and Royalty Free Images from 123RF.” 123RF Stock Photos,

http://www.123rf.com/. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.

“View of an Imaginary Castle with Two Towers.” Art UK, artuk.org/discover/artworks/view-of-an-imaginary-castle-with-two-towers-99748. Accessed 13 Mar. 2024.