Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1979 - 26

The first concrete idea came, appropriately, on a rainy afternoon after the first production meeting as Yeargan was driving Serban to the New Haven train station. Serban noticed the
rain beading on the windshield. the blurred images outside the
glass, and how he was straining to distinguish them. This was
the effect he wanted for Cherbourg. Yeargin conceived a
" ... glass window with rain effect surrounding the
stage ... ," but he realized this would be too stationary for
the length of the performance. This solid sheet of glass was
altered to a series of eight individual plexiglass panels: 2 @
4'x4', 2 @ 4'x6'. 2 @ 4'x8', and 2 @ 4'x1 0'. Yeargan tried to
devise a wing and groove system by which these panels could
move horizontally to any position and pivot to any angle mechanically for a "magical dream-like effect and movement."
This arrangement was not feasible in the Martinson Theatre,
however, because of the cost involved to convert the stage
floor to the system. Hence, Yeargan and Serban opted for the
simple and-for the purposes of this production--more effective method of free-standing panels manipulated by the performers.
Both director and designer anticipated terrible reflection
problems from the clear panels and began experimenting with
a variety of materials and glazing techniques. Non-glare glass
would have been ideal for avoiding reflection, but it was not
produced in sections large enough to accommodate the design. Yeargan next tried plexiglass sheets streaked with shellac to create the rain illusion. In close view this was perfect,
but from the house, the shellac became indistinct, and the illusion was lost under normal stage lighting. In an attempt to accentuate the rain effect, the panels were reglazed with a mixture of shellac and polyurethane. The effect then became
overpowering and could not be played down even when desired. Yeargan and Serban returned to the shellac glaze alone
allowing the "rain" to be emphasized or de-emphasized by
changes in the lighting designed by Ian Calderon.
New sheets of plexiglass were brought in, glazed, and
mounted on stage. Experimenting with Calderon's design, the
panels seemed transparent when back lit. When illuminated
from the front the rain appeared-along with, unfortunately.
every fingerprint, smudge, and dust particle picked up and
trapped in the shellac during the experimentation process. To
elminate this undesired effect. a wash of denatured alcohol
was applied. While this solution removed the debris and did
not damage the plexiglass, it did dissolve the plexiglass
solvent binding the panels to the acrylic bases, and, one by
one. the units collapsed. The panels were reconstructed,
glazed. and put on stage. The units were complete.
Other staging elements that evolved through collaboration
and the rehearsal process were, like the panels, unconventional. Because Cherbourg was staged in the cabaret
theatre. the design staff wished to maintain the intimacy of the
audience/performer relationship of cabaret. To accommodate
the large orchestra needed for Legrande's score, without
creating a Wagnerian "mystic gulf" between the stage and
the house, Yeargin designed a loft above stage right to hold
the orchestra. This structure originally had an elaborate white
railing" ... with a French feeling ... ," but in rehearsal this
proved visually distracting and was replaced with velour
blacks to mask the musicians and to control the volume of the
large orchestra in the small theatre. The downstage side
opened for the finale because the backers feared the audience would think the music was "canned" if the orchestra
was not visible sometime during the performance.
A permanent turntable was located down center stage. For
this production, it was used to move performers rather than
scenery in, what Yeargin terms, "special moments" where the
movement of the turntable with or without performers would
demonstrate psychological and emotional nuances.
Although the set, thus far, was tending towards abstraction,
Serban decided the props would be realistic: "very interesting
24

Theatre Design & Technology

and very French." For example, an elaborate chandelier was
flown in for the jewelry shop. Practical umbrellas and a detailed store counter determined the umbrella store. For the
gas station scene near the end of the play, however, free
standing flats with comic strip stylizations of brightly colored
automobiles on grease racks and an ESSO petrol sign defined
the space while furthering the eclectic nature of the performance.
The treatment of the stage floor became an unconquerable
problem. Beginning with real cobblestone for a village street
feeling, on which it was too difficult to maneuver panels, it was
modified to painted cobblestone that looked like linoleum. Ultimately, the design staff decided to ignore the floor and paint
it with an innocuous grayish-blue latex.
Running the length of the upstage wall was a translucent
backdrop---present throughout the performance-adapted
from a high contrast black and white photograph of a French
village scene. The buildings and trees were painted in opaque
latex with the sky. and "glow" from the street lamps, done
with aniline dyes. Scoop lights were positioned behind the
dyed area representing the street lamps' globes to give an
added three-dimensional effect to the drop. Furthering the
overall impressionistic effect, a separate wall of plexiglass
panels (all 4'x1 0' and textured as the free standing panels before) was aligned in front of the drop allowing it to be seen
clearly, or "blurredly," by front or back lighting. For certain
scenes, the drop was bathed in light of a symbolically appropriate color to emphasize the onstage action. In the final
scene, a traveler of white duvatene was drawn between the
panels. and the drop was back lighted. This created a "snowlike" effect on the village scene while further obscuring the
spectators ability to perceive the painted image.
Finally. thousand of "twinkle" lights ran up the structural
supports of the theatre and into the house defining the acting
space and contributing to the cabaret treatment of the performance. It is interesting to note that Serban never used the
same acting area repeatedly to represent the same location.
For instance, the umbrella shop never appeared in one acting
area twice, although it always represented the umbrella shop.
The locations were identified by the detailed props, not by
stage geography. This eliminated the repetition of fixed acting
spaces to define certain locations of the play, allowed the
stage space to be used to the maximum, and caused the
spectator to remain active during the performance. having to
notice the detail of each "set" in order to recognize it in its
new location and, thereby. follow the plot of Cherbourg.
With an unconventional mixture of visual interpretationsabstract panels, the surreal movement of performers via the
turntable, realistic props, cartoon flats, twinkle lights, and an
impressionistic backdrop---the spectator was made aware of
each element of the design through contrast. Most importantly, the set was a performer, growing and changing in rehearsal, motivating and being motivated by the other performers. In one scene, the panels, which were manipulated by
the actors. surround Genevieve. preventing her escape. In another, the panels "follow" Cassard downstage prohibiting him
from returning upstage. Later, panels bisect the acting space
with Genevieve behind and Cassard in front. The turntable
moves Genevieve away from Cassard without her taking a
step. Yeargan explains, "The panels seemed to represent tile
inner life of the characters ... not places or physical
units ... They became psychological rather than physical parameters of the acting space." He compared it to the growing
castle in A Dream Play: " ... no real symbolic or blatant
meaning but (it) created an overwhelming gut reaction .... "
Although the production fell short of Broadway hopes.
Yeargan feels the design for Cherbourg was a success. The
set was more than a shadowbox for the performers. Its character evolved with the other characters. It acted and reacted.
It performed.D
USITT /Winter, 1979

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