A Wrinkle in Time Props Design
Role
My role within this project was to design and build props that fit the needs of the director and usable by the actor.
Problem
To create a brain that is meant to grow in time and a crystal ball that is large and can change colors as needed by the play.
Audience
The actors using the prop and the audience who will be sitting farther away from the actors actively using the props
Strategy
I worked with the scenic designer and the director in order to ensure that the props fulfilled their purposes in a way that complements the rest of the world built.
The brain needed to be large, portable, and semi transparent for a light to shine though. Based on this, I felt that paper-mache was the best option and adding another material like gossamer would add to the texture of the brain.
The crystal ball needed to be able to change colors to go along with the events of scene. The initial idea was doing a projection onto a flat surface that would be painted and constructed to look like a three dimensional crystal ball, but the director had technical concerns. So I researched and procured a small projector which was able to change colors and swirl around using a remote that the actor could easily use during the performance.
Final Product
The three foot wide brain was created out of tissue paper and gossamer to create a paper-mache figure. It was then hollowed out and stuffed with plastic in order to refract the light that would be shining through a pedestal through the brain. This allowed for the brain to appear as if it were pulsing and becoming more ominous.
The crystal ball was built using a rounded light post bulb filled with gossamer and sprayed with a satin finish to better contain the light of the projector. The projector was controlled by the actor during the scene to better control what was essential for the scene.
