Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2005 - 35

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that they be made from special woods that enhance
their efficacy." An experienced master will carve a
block of wood into a figure that adheres to a visual vocabulary that specifically relates the piece to a god, a
level of power, or a specific person. Even the utilitarian pieces have a meaning in the ritual life of the culture that extends beyond the simple identity of the
item as a bowl or stool or staff.
Irobi wanted to use this production to inform the
audience about the Yoruba culture and to avoid making
an "African collage" that would sustain clichés and misapprehensions about African peoples. It was, therefore,
important to the design team to show this visual style accurately in the costumes and props against the background of the more abstract set (figure 3). In our
research process, Renae Pedersen (graduate costume
designer), and I relied heavily on anthropological texts
because Yoruba culture is extremely well researched and
documented by scholars. Doing anthropological research was the only way to learn about the aesthetics,
cultural definitions, and values of the Yorubas. Then we
carefully checked the validity of our choices with Irobi,
who was an excellent source himself. As the scene designer, I found it important to clarify symbols with the director in early meetings. I wanted to make sure that
"circle" means the same thing to the Yoruba people as it
does to a Western audience since I chose to use a broken
circle as a central symbol for the fractured community. In
my design, the main portion of the stage was a circular
disk that was split with a central crack. I wanted the audience to perceive the circular space as set apart for important community rituals and meetings. It needed to
function as a place for outdoor dance rituals as well as

for private meetings between the king and his advisors. A
circle connotes defense from outside forces ("circling
the wagons"). It connotes infinity, continuity, equality (as
in the Knights of the Round Table). It looks inward at itself and poses a solid barrier with no weak points to the
outside. The circle motif captured these ideas very clearly
for both Western and African audience members. So, breaking a circle shows that these ideas are not functioning. The
community founded on the ideas of the circle is somehow
broken and the fortunes of the gods, or of karma, or of social interactions are not lining up as they should.
Symbols were very important in the selection and
creation of the fabrics for this production as well. The
majority of the fabrics used in the costumes were printed
and dyed in the craft shop with patterns selected to approximate the authentic Yoruba patterns found in the anthropological research. Cotton and silk textiles were
shopped out of New York months in advance to allow
time for these modifications. The costume craft shop cut
stamps out of rubber in the shape of eyes, spirals, hands,
and turtles. Using Irobi as a source, Pedersen learned that
the spiral is a symbol for inevitable action and the turtle is an
animal spirit named in the text as a creature of power. The
hand is a direct metaphor for action and the eye is a symbol
for sight on the one hand, or ignorance and blindness on
the other. The stamps were used to apply dye or bleach to
the fabric to set the image into the cloth. All of the fabric
in the show was made of natural fibers. The result was
fabric yardage that reproduced the look of the traditional
Yoruba cloth found in Pedersen's research (figure 4).
While this procedure was a larger scale undertaking than
most shows require, the actual process is well within the
reach of most any costume shop.
COURTESY JOHN PEMBERTON

5 Research image for the gele.

4 Cloth for the women's garments was stamped
with symbols.

S P R I N G

2 0 0 5

TD & T

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2005