The Seagull

Devin Pierce Scheef

Scenic Design for Live Theatre

Written by Anton Chekhov

Presented by the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, January 2012

Directed by Michael Lugering

Lighting Design by Kurt P. Jung

Costume Design by Mariya Radeva-Nedyalkova

The action takes place at the lakeside gazebo, on the front terrace, and in the interior dining room and drawing room of this wealthy estate. Like the subjects of a pointillist painting, the characters are fragmented beings, unable to step out of the frame to appreciate the beauty of the world around them. So, like a pointillist painting, the set is grounded on a blank white canvas that spills over the edge of the stage, and 867 suspended linoleum tiles are flown in and out to paint the different locations. These multi-colored tiles are arranged to form everything from rippling water, to leaf-covered tree limbs, to the moon itself.

Russia at the turn of the 20th Century, in the mansion and gardens of the lakeside Sorin Estate. An elite collective of family and friends suffer through several seasons of dysfunctional relationships stemming from selfish and blind ambitions. They embark on fruitless pursuits of love, acceptance, and grandeur, brought about by nothing more than their own unceasing boredom.

The Seagull