Set Design for: “A Clean House”

This was a set design for an assignment in my theater stage design class. This play explores the unconscious human experience within the mind, and all of the actors interact solely within the house.

The playwright had one major rule for all set designs: to use the color white as much as possible. At the end of the play, chaos finally erupts when the maid dirties the once-pristine house. This moment symbolizes the emotional overflow we often try to suppress suggesting that we can’t keep pretending everything is “clean” inside our minds.

For the set design, I wanted some of the furniture to double as different kinds of props. For example, the reclining chair on the right side will be used as the operating table in the second half of the play. The table with stools will serve both as a kitchen and a bar during flashback scenes. The bubble in the center represents a character outside of the house during key moments and also functions as a giant fish tank, which holds symbolic meaning within the play.

Finally, the safe door represents the barrier to entry into the human mind suggesting how we try to lock our emotions away instead of understanding and feeling them. I chose grey and blue lighting to reflect a mood that is calm, yet uncertain.