The Hatbox

by

Eric Coble

Rover Dramawerks March 2025

Cox Playhouse Plano TX

Director Charlotte Taylor

Set design and build Mike Straub

The play takes place in three locations in Ohio.
Scene 1 takes place at Dad's house. Dad's house is stuck in the 70s complete with wood paneling, bead curtain and ugly orange couch.
Scene 2 is an assisted living facility. Mostly utilitarian.
Scene 3 is Stanley and Marsha's house. Bright and cheery.
Scene 4 is back at Dad's house.

Challenges

The scene changes require large updates to the stage. Scene 1 to 2 and 3 to 4 happen during blackouts so they need to happen quickly. The pictures/artwork are hung back to back on strings so they can be rotated or pushed behind the curtains as needed. The walls change color every scene so 4x8 foot wood panelling was hung on the walls utilizing custom hangers. The back of the paneling is painted for scene 2 wall color. The wall sections themselves are painted for scene 3, which shows when the panels are removed. Only putting up two 4ft wall sections gives the audience enough to imagine the walls across the black curtained sections with out the need of having more color changing panels to deal with during scene changes. The artwork hung on the curtain sections reinforces the big room feel tying the curtain sections to the room. The bookshelf needs to be dressed differently for scenes 1 and 3 but was not needed for scene 2. The bookshelf has 2 sides and is on wheels so it can be rotated or moved on stage. The couch colors are changed by use of slip covers. During intermission the couch cover for Dad's House scene 4 is put on and then the slip cover for scene 3 is placed on top.

2D View of Set