Orlando by Sarah Ruhl
Williamstown Theatre Festival, Foeller Fellowship Play (2019)
“A dreamy adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s famous tale, Sarah Ruhl’s Orlando is a magical and poetic dance between gender and through time, a fantastical world in which courtly movement and biographical narration combine to tell the story of a being who lives outside of human expectations, and enjoys twice the experience that humanity has to offer.”
— Stage Agent Show Description
CREDITS
Director: Katie Lindsay; Lights: Megan Seibel; Costumes: Charles Newman & Brynne Oster-Bainnson; Sound: Jamie Davis; Photos: Joseph O’Malley
The Process
Given the whimsical and mercurial nature of Ruhl’s play, we decided the set should function as a source of constant creation. The oak tree described in the text became the heart of that creation and so, I filled its branches with the hand props that would be used throughout the show and objects of significance mentioned over the course of the play, as well as objects from Williamstown’s legacy of prestigious productions. In this way, I strove to visually capture the freedom of expression and powerful storytelling inherent to Orlando.
“The oak tree was the back of a great horse that he was riding or the deck of a tumbling ship
it was anything indeed so long as it was hard
for he felt the need of something which he could attach his floating heart to”
— Orlando by Sarah Ruhl
