Director: Eddie Torres
Set Designer/Advisor: Marcela Oteiza
She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms tells the story of a teenage girl's quest to learn more about her late sister through the fantastic world of Dungeons & Dragons, with a script updated for the digital age. For the Spring 2021 season, Wesleyan University's Theater Department presented this production in a filmed format; characters would begin in Zoom-style interactions, then escape through a misty forest to a socially-distanced fantasy world, where they would battle both high school bullies and evil demons.
When I entered the project, I was tasked with designing the main landscape for the D&D adventure/fight scenes. The built elements needed to be simple, modular, and navigable for actors, while also capturing the game-centric spirit of the story. My visual research ranged from traditional fantasy settings to foam-block playscapes for children, and even included the board game Heroscape from my childhood, a battle game which used modular tiles.
Front Left View
Front Right View
Low (Camera) View
Rear View
The result was a set of ramps and platforms that differed in height and shape, both small enough to fit the studio used for filming yet large enough to allow socially-distanced performances. The set of forms would be covered in carpet tiles, in order to soundproof the hollow wooden structures and provide a fun, pixelated appearance that leaned into the game-centric and digital themes.
Once the idea of the colorful ramps and platforms had been developed, I moved into drafting the various scenes of the show, where the idea shifted through several iterations to find final sizes and setup.
Components
Plan
Section
Forest Layout
Carpet Pattern
Before construction began, I also modeled various aspects of the scenic design in 1/4" scale, in order to physically visualize how the pieces would sit in the studio space. I presented the model to the director and actors at the first rehearsal, so they could begin blocking scenes with the final setting in mind.
'Zoom' Room (Agnes)
Forest Scene
Forest Scene (Camera View)
Landscape (Front)
Landscape (Camera View)
Landscape (Top)
Landscape (Character)
Once designs were finalized, the ramps and platforms were constructed, and the carpet was laid according to the plans.
Panoramic View
Pieces B, C, and E
Piece A
Rear View (Before)
Rear View (After)
After I supervised set construction and the carpet-laying process, the cast could begin rehearsing scenes in the space. The photos below depict various moments from the initial sessions in the studio and theater.
Lilith's Entrance
Orcus's Cave
Forest (Stage Right)
Forest (Stage Left)
Once filming was completed, the final show was edited together into a final version screened to audiences. Given the fun and exciting qualities of the result, I'm glad that I was able to contribute to the creation of the show's spaces, and develop many essential skills of scenic design practice throughout the process!
