Set Design: The Miracle on South Division Street

If it hadn’t been for the Covid-19 epidemic and the ensuing shut-down of the economy, April 21^st WOULD have been the first public performance of Players Circle Theatre’s production of The Miracle on South Division Street AND my first full set design for the theatre company.

However, with the cancellation of the last half of the theatre season after the Tuesday, May 16 opening performance of  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime  any realization of the set (and ensuring production) that was to begin construction later that week was put on indefinite hold. 

Render style Vectorworks White Model of set design

Set in more-or-less present-day Buffalo,  NY, the play follows the Nowak family as they discover long-hidden secrets related to their heritage that threaten to turn the Polish-American clan’s sense of self-identity upside down.  The setting is the kitchen of the Nowak home where matriarch Clara prepares meals for the soup-kitchen that the family runs and where daughter Ruth has called a family meeting to discuss the truth concerning  “miracle” alluded to in the title.  

Like the neighborhood, the home is and has been in decline for decades.  Although functional, the kitchen hasn’t been updated for many years (somewhere between the 50s & the early 70s).  With a door to the exterior and another entrance to the rest of the house, the kitchen  also features a functioning sink a range & refrigerator, additional cutting/prep table and, importantly, a kitchen table & chair.  Director Robert Cacioppo also asked that the plan include an attic door as well as a window over the kitchen sink.   

Another factor guiding the set configuration was the desire by the producer to utilize the newly renovated black-box space in a “corner-theatre” configuration.  

Finally, budgetary considerations flowing from cost overruns for some of the earlier productions dictated trying to keep the costs as low as possible.  By reusing many of the flats from the production of Laughter on the 23^rd Floor and creating a floor treatment of 1/8” taped & Masonite (a trick that I learned when I designed for the now-defunct Stage West Theatre in Des Moines) we plan to save budget for 3 double-rolls of 50s-era wallpaper and, hopefully, for a 50s dinette table & chairs, and, if possible, vintage 50s appliances & cabinetry.

With any luck, Players Circle Theatre will be reopening in the fall with this production.

That’s all for now.
Stay Safe

SJM