An Irish Theatrical Journey in Set Sketches by Genea Whitman

I’ve always been frustrated that you’re not allowed to take photos in theaters and museums. I know it has to do with not distracting the actors with flash photography or infringing on the production crew’s copyright, but as a visual artist I always like to have a record of what I’ve seen to draw from later on. Since I knew from the start of this program that I wanted to write about many of the sets I would be seeing, I started doing quick sketches on the backs of programs of the productions that we were seeing on tickets, programs, and the occasional napkin. Later I transferred these into my sketchbook, straightening lines and filling in the blanks where I left little notes like ‘Footbath Here’. The resulting pictures are far from perfect-- omitting many details and wonderful set changes that I simply had no time to sketch-- but they’ve been helpful for me and hopefully they’ll be helpful to you in remembering/picturing these productions.  Below are eight of the ten sets we’ve seen, with brief descriptions of some of the things I was not able to include. For pictures of Loose Cannon's A Midsummer Night's Dream? -- I would recommend taking a look at Rosa’s photos in Michael Kunze and Nancy Martinez's articles on the production:

http://tdpsirishtheatretodayberkeley.blogspot.com/2011/06/midsummer-nights-dream-or-bard-will.html 

http://tdpsirishtheatretodayberkeley.blogspot.com/2011/06/finding-new-ways-to-dream-michael-kunze.html

George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion at the Abbey Theatre- Henry Higgin's Office (June 7, 2011) 

Pygmalion- Mrs. Higgin's Drawing Room

Athol Fugard's Blood Knot at the Project Arts Centre (June 8, 2011)

Tennessee William's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Gate (June 9, 2011)

Shane Connaughton's The Pitch at the New Theatre (June 13, 2011)

Stacey Gregg's Perve at the Peacock Theatre (June 20, 2011)

Classic Stage Ireland's Iphigenia at Aulis (June 21, 2011)

Martin McDonagh's Cripple of Inishmaan by Druid Theatre at the Galway Town Hall Theatre-
The Aunt's Convenience Store (June 23, 2011)

The Cripple of Inishmaan- Babby Bobby's Currach

Brian Friel's Translations at the Abbey (June 27, 2011)