Set Design Portfolio- PinChen

PIN CHEN P O R T F O L

PETER GRIMES

2022 SADLER'S WELLS

These Borough gossips Listen to money

Only to money:

I’ll fish the sea dry, Sell the good catches–That wealthy merchant Grimes will set up Household and shop You will all see it!

I’ll marry Ellen! I’ll win them over (Peter Grimes, ACT I: Scene 1)

Considering the dramaturgy, Peter never leaves the aquarium since his desire and persistence have become stronger. I did not realise then it is a situation of indulging in cruel optimism. When the goal has become a source of pain, he still does not dare to let it go because he believes that one day it will come true. From the endless sea to the restricted aquarium, Peter was like a fish captured from the sea, yearning for the sea but having no way out. The captive fish may have a safer and longer life, but it is also lost its original freedom. The former is optimistic, while the latter is cruel. Life is moving forward in this seemingly contradictory but interdependent state. The sea is Peter's safety net, wrapping all his fantasies about the future. Without the shackles of desire, his life may lack affirmation and hope for the future, but it will also become freer. However, he never is able to leave his aquarium during the whole play.

In my very first theatre design work in Scenography, Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten, I found the cruel optimism in him. Peter holds the fantasy of capturing lots of fish and making money from it to win others again. He could not live in the present. For me, rather than the gossip, it is the fantasy that makes him oppress the boy and leads him to his tragedy in the end. The whole opera takes place around the sea, yet the sea seems to exist only in people's mouths. The sea, where the fishermen depend, is like Peter's desires, ambitions and obsessions that limit and confine him. With the sea and Peter's desires as the main focus, my idea comes from bringing the sea to the stage. The aquarium is like a small and limited version of the sea. It is also a place where people watch and are watched, just like Peter and the people in town.

MODEL MAKING

The material is all white marble, Peter stands in it in a pale white costume, creating the imagery of a Greek statue The theme of ancient Greek sculptures is mainly myths Myths are the yearning for things to come in the future and gods are based on the images of mortals but more idealistic versions God's body is healthier than human's, his wisdom is higher than human's, and his will is stronger than human's Still, they are people oriented, expressing human's emotions and desires Therefore, mythological figures such as Venus, Hermes, and Athena in sculpture works reflect human Nonetheless, behind the sculpture of gods is the expectations of a better human being Peter represents the image of a mortal person, who cannot get rid of his desires as a human being His attitude towards the future is optimistic, but, since he cannot escape from his desires, the result of him being swallowed by desires is clearly cruel He was wrapped in desire and became part of the fantasy Therefore, the statue on the stage is not God, Godness, nor a hero, but an ordinary man covered with his fantasy Peter stands on a marble pedestal like a god standing on an altar, worshipped and respected We hold our fantasies high as if they could take us to a better place, yet we do not realise, that it is his fantasy that leads him to tragedy

STORY BOARD

"God Knows" is a fantasy or a dream of a mentally ill man

The script presents the state of taking so many drugs, reality and illusion, life and death, dreams in the dream From declination to reconciliation, we witness the love hatred relationship between the main character and the drugs

The play is not only portrays the mental appearance of a drug addict but also constructs a reason why modern people escape from reality and embrace virtual living conditions and psychological states instead. The performance is in Shennong’s perspective as his subjective lens. After sneaking into his brain and being stimulated by drugs, he develops a special perception that is usually suppressed and restrained, amplifying the variation of space and time, as if the body is living on the earth, but the spirit has fallen into the universe.

GOD KNOWS D E C 2 0 2 0 2 1 9 e x p e r i m e n t a l t h e a t r e

Melancholia is like having holes in the heart, drugs flowing through it to cure the sadness Therefore, the stage is actually the image of Shennong’s heart The pure white and black holes create a clear contrast The white also symbolizes the original purity of the heart, the cleanness and smoothness of the uninjured, and the human inner peace that we have been seeking The scene on the upper left stage has a hole like a window, suggesting the pink room at the end of the script, from the initial clinic, home, to the final opening of the scenery, this space has always been the pink room with house number 448 In the end, Shennong, who is accustomed to living in illusions, is willing to return to reality? In the final scene, the scenery was opened, is represents to disillusionment created by the drugs Ultimately, Shennong had to return to the reality he did not want to face

The crack is where the light penetrates, hoping that we have the ability to pick up the pieces and put ourselves together after being broken.

3D MODELLING &BUILDING

Concept Sketch

Final Sketch

In addition to starting from the script, the design process also considered how the stage can cooperate with the performance, hoping to develop contemporary artistic expressions of dialogue between various stage forms and spaces.

When space becomes an inseparable and vital part of a performance, set design becomes very important. It integrates self understanding of the script and the designer's perspective of the world into the design. However, they do not force the audience to accept it. The set design then becomes a medium, letting the audience have their own interpretation. The drama complete in the imagination and cooperation of the director, design, and audience. This is the concept of my design this time. The final stage design is an experiment based on this sequence of thoughts.

EVERYONE IS TALKING BUT NO ONE IS LISTENING

"12 Angry Men" focuses on a jury's deliberations in a capital murder case A 12 man jury is sent to begin deliberations in the first degree murder trial of an 18 year old boy accused in the stabbing death of his father, where a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence

Everyone is so close, but they don't understand each other's story and they don't even want to know each other's thoughts This environment is so noisy and oppressive

What kind of American interior style in 1980? What will happen to the meeting within the court? Starting from these points, I think this space should be very neutral and calm I want to present a calm, solemn and delicate space based on the background in the script

TWELVE ANGRY MEN

V E R S I O N 2

"Twelve Angry Men" is our term production in my junior year. This is my first time in a relatively standard theatre. Not only design but how to produce and lead the group are the lessons I have to learn.

Due to the Covid 19, we changed our venue from the Kaohsiung Experimental Theatre to the 219 Experimental Theatre during the production. Therefore, my original design has changed a lot because the sizes of the two theatres are different. Moreover, due to the schedule of the theatre, we shifted the performance to an earlier date Combining these factors, this production is really a challenge!

WALL PATTERN

Referring to the the time, I painted wallflowers on the walls The pattern is verbena, which its flower language is justice, and the other smaller pattern represents the balance of justice, but it also looks like an angry face, which is a little fun I added to it.

The colour is gray green, a neutral colour,giving people a sense of calm The toilet space is a comfort zone for the characters to escape from the discussion, therefore, softer and comfortable colours are used

SEP 2019 JIANJUN ART VILLAGE

HER SOLO

"Her Solo" was a self created script inspired by the four female characters in Shakespeare’s plays: Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Desdemona in Othello, and Ophelia in Hamlet Taking part of their characteristics and adapted them to women who oppressed by nowadays social stereotypes Using the character’s solo, rhythm, and body to create an imagery space, hoping that the audience could see what is under the surface

I choose the white curtains as the main feature in this design The reason I use this textile is that even though the cloth looks tender and fragile but it is also really powerful, it is flexible and never be truly broken, just like a woman who looks fragile but incredibly strong The white curtain creates the imagery of a hospital room or a mourning hall, where the characters are rotten in this space The stage is also like a dream, where women are looking forward to being understood, recognized, and trust

This project starts by thinking having a good life fantasy will not make our lives good And postponing the belief that having imaginations for the future is not necessary for lives This project focuses more on the moment when fantasy fails rather than what it could bring us I consider what makes the fantasy blue prints so vivid and important and question the strategies of living we have created for living in the present

DESTROY FANTASY

I made a costume with several bath balls covered with muslin Even though the material is not directly on my body, it is still with me in another way The costume became heavy which limits my movement when wearing it It occurs to me that, it is in the same situation that when our fantasies get too overwhelming, they would change the way we act or even think

I explore materials through my bodies and physically engage in them I found the unlimited potential of the material and generated ideas through improvisation and division

In my project, to explore my questions in a scenographic way, I was performing an act of destroying fantasy by using my movement to pressure and extrude the water balloons that trigger the bath bombs and create the effervescent effect simultaneously Through time, I could feel the change in my body and the way I move Not only is it too weighty to move naturally, but also, I notice that since I put all my attention on the bubbles, I feel like myself and the action of destroying fantasy are the only things left in the space

The bath bomb costume after the performance

The bath bomb costume before the performance

POSSIBILITIES HAVE TO BE RECOGNIZED AS POSSIBILITIES TO BECOME POSSIBLE

There is nothing conclusive in the end, as I encounter more and more questions during the process. I never thought that I could solve the existing social problems in any practical way, but at the same time, I don't want to just accept them Still, I always try to use my own way to reject social injustice since mental health and the well being of people living in such an environment is really crucial I hope to broaden a more diverse perspective and provide the experience that we have not thought about before, even if it is vague or uncertain. Not knowing where I am is worth celebrating, because it represents that every way is worth trying and going. After all, the ultimate purpose of this project is not to urge everyone to give up their fantasy but to stop relying on the immutable expectations of the future And to think about what constitutes the imagination of the future and more possibilities beyond the good life Focusing on fantasy is like living on the expectations of the future, but life is not only anout the future but includes every moment of the past, the future and the present. In the end, though it might be a bit cliché, life is not about living a happy ending but the journey itself

OTHER WORKS

I used to use physical practice with my own bodies and improvisation to explore different materials and generate ideas There are some precious times I found beautiful things that just happened while I am being creative and playful I found the infinite potential of materials and the body I've been exploring these questions through my practice:

How does the material affect my body gestures ? How does a combination of materials affect unfolding improvisations ? How does my concept/process of improvisation evolve ?

When am I in the moment ?

PAPER

E N T I N G H O S E

Project:

RITUALS THROUGH THE CHILD GAMES

D U S T S H E E T

PIN CHEN

From Taiwan. A recent graduate in MA in Scenography at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. With a formal background in theatre design, I am sensitive to space and play analysis. Now, I focus on the Scenography world, exploring the interaction between space, different materials, and the body.

chenpini07@gmail com +44 7895036560

33B Newington Green Rd, London N1 4Q