The Noose

Set and props design, build, and paint for the Toronto Next Stage Festival show “The Noose”, produced and directed by Abigail Whitney

Introduction

I was engaged by Abigail Whitney Productions to deliver the set and props for “The Noose” at the 2024 Toronto Fringe Next Stage Festival. The show ran for 6 performances at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto.

This project involved the design, build and painting of the set and design and sourcing of the props required for the show (working with the props assistant).

This page documents the progression of the design from initial ideas through to opening night. Click on the images on this page for a larger version.

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Documentation

Support and Resources

We are committed to providing exceptional support and resources to help you succeed with our platform.

Our support team is available 24/7 to assist with any issues or questions you may have, ensuring that help is always within reach.

Additionally, we offer a comprehensive knowledge base, including detailed documentation, video tutorials, and community forums where you can connect with other users and share insights.

We also provide regular updates and new features based on user feedback, ensuring that our platform continues to evolve to meet your needs.

Documentation

Design and Modelling

The play takes place in a window-less, one room, New York basement apartment. Our characters, Haitian immigrants Polydor and Pyram, have been living in this cramped space together for the past three years. I wanted to convey the idea that they are trapped, both physically and socially, so designed a low, partial wall to represent their cramped, outdated space below the stairwells and elevators of their building.

The shape of the space itself, with the arrangement of the beds was designed to look like the pincers of a trap, with the two main characters literally facing off against each other, while maintaining their own distinct areas (Polydor’s tidy, academic area opposite Pyram’s messy space decorated with newspaper clippings). I gave them a sparse kitchen, damp walls and noisy heating pipes running through their space.

The apartment is illuminated by a single bare light bulb hanging in the centre that will play a major role in the piece.

As well as representing the aesthetic of the play and the environment within which the action takes place, this set had a number of other constraints that needed to be considered as part of the design: the show would need to be set up in 30 minutes, struck in 15 minutes at the end of each show, and be stored in a space 3 feet by 5 feet by 7 feet high. Budgetary constraints also played a factor in the design, the choice of materials and the sourcing of props.

After discussions with the director, and considering the practical constraints, I began sketching designs, before settling on this elevation. The wall height is only 6′-6″, conveying the low ceiling of the basement (particularly next to Polydor, played by Edmond Clark, who is 6′-2″).

Once I had a rough design, I superimposed it over a photo of the Chamber space at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, where the show would run, to check that the proportions of the set were suitable for the space.

I created box representing the stage, then a basic white model of the set to further refine the design and help me determine how it might be built. It also allowed me to see how the set looked from the point of view of various positions within the audience.