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West Side Story
directed by Ken Urmston
Lighting Design by Miriam Hack, Costumes by Georgia Baker
produced by Maryland Arts Festival, Baltimore, MD.
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Model.
Broadway veteran Ken Urmston directed this production in the newly remodeled Stephens Hall Theatre. Ken and I did not want scenery that recreated New York in the 50's. Instead we chose to create an atmosphere of danger and confrontation based on paintings of New York done in the `30s. Using raked platforms, shadows, pieces of fence above and under the platforms, corrugated tin and trash under the platforms, the space became a dangerous environment.
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The layout of the platforms forced the Sharks and the Jets into a confrontation over the turf in the center area. The trash under the platforms further controlled the movement patterns of each side, blocking some entrances and creating confrontation over the ones left.
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The spaces that went against the sharp angles and dangerous feel in West Side Story were the spaces where Tony and Maria felt safe. Both Doc's drugstore seen here and the dress shop were designed with curved lines to separate them from the other world.
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