Spamalot

UM Musical Theatre Association

Union House Theatre - 2023

Awarded: Most Outstanding Set Design

Emphasis was laid on combining elements from the traditional one-set design of the original musical comedy with a more dynamic gestural abstraction.

Set Team: Stephanie Nguyen, Nathan Dinh, Lexi Zhu

When the tabs opened, the audience was greeted by an incredibly striking castle that stretched across the stage.

- The Dialogue

The centrepiece was a large castle with turrets on either side of a gate. A flagpole hoisted new flags for new settings, complimenting banners which hung over the castle walls and also changed accordingly.

The turrets rotated to reveal an interior room of the castle, with a window that could be climbed through.

The stage was draped with an overhanging canopy which was lit during forest scenes, for which large abstract trunks were rolled onto stage. Their formations were changed in between scenes to suggest that the forest was organically evolving as it was moved through.

The set (designed by Juliana Neild) was outstanding, with the castle not only a majestic visual spectacle, but a functional set piece that moved to create other settings such as inside a prince's Rapunzel-esque tower and an "expensive" forest.

- The Dialogue

A cloud in the parodic style of Terry Gilliam hung centrally and was used to project text and images.

Process photos

(Documenting design and build)