I spent a good part of the summer researching for the next show, but not really designing. Some things that I looked at were Bonnie and Clyde specific. There were a couple of great documentaries. But I also spent a lot of time trying to come up with what the towns looked like that they ravaged in Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and other states. 
In 2010, I directed a production of Frank Galati's adaptation of Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" for a local theater company and got myself neck-deep in the Depression-era dust bowl. There is definitely an aesthetic to that period and place in American history that is distinctive. A show about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow HAS to reflect that look.
Then, pouring through the script and discussions with Scott, I came to realize that this show is constructed in a very interesting way.
First, the show really focuses on Clyde's obsession with the fame of Al Capone. And Bonnie is fixated on the glamorous movie star life of Clara Bow. So, it seemed that it would be interesting for the show to look and feel like an old newsreel or series of black and white photos, yellowed with age.
The show opens with a barrage of machine gun fire and the lights come up on B & C dead in the seat of their stolen 1934 Ford Deluxe. Then the show jumps back a few years and follows their fall into a life of crime. Scott mentioned that it is almost as though the show is their lives flashing before their eyes as they die.
Scott and I agreed that the whole show should almost have a dream-like feel to it. Not a bunch of concrete locations, but just perceptions of places, distorted by memory and time. More images of a place and time than real places and times.Armed with this concept and a ton of imagery of the places and people of that time, I began designing the set. I quickly settled on the idea that I would create a series of pieces that represented many different places. Not whole sets, rooms, buildings, and such. Just elements. A part of a bank facade, a part of a 30's gas station, telephone poles, an old brick jail and of course, the 1934 Ford Deluxe V8.
The idea is that these elements float in space against black, composed in a manner that makes no sense to the conscious mind, but are more of just a composition, an image of the time. For each scene, one element would be highlighted with light, leaving the rest as ghosts in the background. This would allow me to leave almost everything on stage the whole time. Then to establish the interiors for all of the places that the gang ends up throughout the story, we would just bring out two or three small pieces of furniture and set the scene way downstage in a pool of light, with the archetype hovering visually in the background.
In order to capture the flavor of the old photos and newsreels, I think that we will paint everything in sepia tones. No colors, but all shades of brown, yellow, warm gray, and cream. That should adequately give the impression of an old movie.
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My first order of business will be the car. There is a reason for this. I still have the truck from The Grapes of Wrath sitting in the corner of the scenic shop, collecting dust. It is a 2/3 scale, stylized and generic representation of a 1930's vehicle. If I use it as the basis for the Ford, half of the work is done. The Ford Deluxe had a bit of a distinctive grille and front bumper, so if I recreate those parts and reuse the frame, fenders, wheels and cab, all they will need is a paint job to match my sepia color scheme. The car that Clyde stole was gray, so that can work. I said that I wouldn't do another vehicle on stage, but... this one will be much more stylized, not so realistic and certainly not a full car. Plus, I have a good start on it. If I do the car first, I can get the old truck out of my way and have more room.
As usual, I'll post pictures as things get finished...
R
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