Gathering Research

Today, Lucas and I took a trip to Barthell Coal Mining Camp to do a little design research. I really want our set to have a truly authentic look, so I figured one of the best ways to get inspiration was to visit some locations similar to the locations in the play.

I was hoping we would be able to see the inside of some homes so I could get an idea of how I need to lay out the set of one of the indoor scenes. Unfortunately, the closest we came was seeing a graphic of a floor plan. There were cabins there that were available to rent, but I think I got all of the information I need from some of the photos and the exhibits in their museum.

We were able to take a tour a mine, however, that was really helpful! I got a lot of good photos and information that will come in really useful when creating our mine set and planning costumes.

 

Floor plan for a two-bedroom house.

Costuming inspiration.

More costuming.

Inside of the mine.

A fallen roof.

A mine collapse.

Mine entrance.

I'm in love with this stove! Would love to have something like this set in the kitchen scene!

Some tools in the museum.

Helmets...

Helmets...

And more helmets.

Dinner buckets.

I really loved this shot of Lucas walking out of the mine. There was so much fog from where it had been raining that there was this really beautiful glow coming from the opening as we started back out of the mine.

So hopefully, we'll be able to take some of this and turn it into a really nice-looking set! Lucky for us, we'll have a relatively long rehearsal process, which means a relatively long period of time in which to get costumes together and sets built. I know it's fairly early in the process, but I seriously have nothing but confidence in the wonderful people who make up my current cast and crew. I'm excited for us to get started!