The Diary of Anne Frank
Arizona Repertory Theatre at The University of Arizona- 2009
Scenic Designer- Katelin Ashcraft
Senior Thesis
In the fall of my senior year I was the Scenic Designer for The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by Harold Dixon and Jeremy Selim. Harold and I felt very strongly about doing the show in the round versus a thrust or proscenium where this show is most commonly done. We really wanted that feeling of absolute isolation in our re-creation the famous attic space. We even went so far as to keep the actors on stage throughout the entire show, even during intermission, to further demonstrate the characters struggles and sense of entrapment. The entire production team also fully committed to the overall idea of realism. Our Lighting Designer, Rachel Minor made full used of practicals and paid close attention to detail when adding the chestnut tree gobo to illuminate the attic, and the realistic flickers of light that lit up the stove. Thanks to Sound Designer Carson Scott, Properties Master Timothy Smith and Master Carpenter Allen Shapiro, all other practicals on the set worked as well; from the period bakelite radio to the running water; the music box to the real live cat, Mouschi! Our Water Closet was the only exception to our attempt at complete realism, to the great disappointment of the actors.
My original design was inspired by a charcoal rendering that I did a year earlier of a spiral staircase. The set itself fans out around a central point, the WC, and gradually winds its way up to the attic. Like a staircase to nowhere the design attempted to evoke both despair and hope as it reaches up to the sky, the heavens, and freedom.
