Rian Hamill - Gruesome Playground Injuries

"Gruesome Playground Injuries" is a play by Rajiv Joseph. This particular staging was a passion project of mine. This production is a great example of the emphasis I place on spatial design and creative collaboration in my work.

Working as both director and set designer, it was my responsibility to unify the design of the production. For that purpose, The collage below was used a stylistic guide for all the designers working on the production, along with a more detailed design document. The designers not only took inspiration from the colours in the collage, but also from the mood the piece provokes.

Set design is often mistaken for being an entirely creative pursuit. While creativity is an important part of it, set design is in fact the marriage of both creative and technical skills. Technical drawings and careful spatial planning are as important to set design as colour co-ordination and mise-en-Scéne.

Thoughtful spatial design was especially important to this production, as the actors would often interact with several parts of the playground during each scene. Pathways were created through this set to allow for continuous, flowing movement paths throughout. This meant actors could move about without being impeded by the awkward placement of playground items.

Playgrounds are typically perceived as joyous spaces. The production team felt this presented us with a wonderful opportunity to subvert the audience's expectations of the tone of each scene.

Audience feedback found that the more tragic and severe moments of the play were amplified by the fact they were placed in a space that conflicted with the tone of the scene. This is a good example of how good environmental design can be used to strengthen the narrative of plays, films, and in particular, video games.