Our Town

During my senior year at Penn State, I had the honor of being selected as the scenic designer for Our Town, directed by Steve Snyder for Penn State Centre Stage. This ambitious project was made possible through the guidance and support of my mentors, Alivia Cross and Milagros Ponce De León. After meeting with the director, we agreed that we wanted to create a unique visual universe in which the play could exist.

Despite the minimalist nature of Our Town, I was excited by the opportunity to develop an abstract and immersive artistic environment. Our design centered on a container-like world woven from loose fibers, symbolizing the interconnected nature of human existence. These woven surfaces enveloped the stage, allowing doors, props, and scenic elements to emerge seemingly out of nothing and support the storytelling in a poetic, transformative way.

One of the production’s most significant moments occurs when the protagonist revisits a cherished memory. Steve envisioned this scene as deeply emotional, and our design reflected that intention. As the memory began, the walls of the container became translucent, and a realistic 1890s kitchen emerged from all directions and assembled itself at center stage, transforming the abstract world into a tangible recollection before the audience’s eyes.

The following includes production photographs, 3D renderings, sample drafting elevations, color elevations, and photographs of my 1/4-inch scale model.