Set Design by Jacqueline Ganzon

1. By Aston Chekhov
Set Designer
Jacqueline Ganzon
Group 59

2. Overall Production of the play
• The overall set design will reflect
the period of the late 1800s in Russia
•The play will provide a realistic
scenery throughout the entire play,
portraying reality of a provincial
Russian estate and farm
•The Seagull would be best portrayed
on a Proscenium Stage, separating
the scenery and performers from the
audience by a “window” or the
proscenium arch.

3. Act I
• A stage within a stage
– Make-shift homemade stage
standing in an outdoor setting
of the provincial Russian
estate and farm where
Treplev lives, owned by his
Uncle Sorin.
– This serves as Treplev’s set for
his amateur theatricals he
writes.
– This will be the the focal point
on stage during the majority
of Act I
– Benches will be facing the
stage within the stage

4. Act I
• A lakefront backdrop
– will serve as a natural scenery behind the stage
– This lake plays a significant role throughout entire
play
– The lake represents Treplev’s desire to move to a
more naturalistic theatre as a playwright

5. Act I
• Trees, bushes and fresh
flowers
– The Sea-gull starts off on a
summer day during sunset.
– This will surround the
terrace, representing the
time of the year that the
play takes place
• In the first scene, Treplev
picks a flower and pulls off its
feathers saying “She love me,
she loves me not” in
reference to Nina.

6. Act I
This set of directions was written
by the original director Stanislavsky
to accompany the Act I
conversation between Treplev and
Sorin written in Russian

7. Act II
• Act II takes place outdoors in from
of the Sorin estate.
– Little change of set from Act I to
Act II
• Focal point changes from the stage
to the bench (The stage moves off
stage)
– It is noon and the day is hot
Since the play is in the Russian
province, a rustic bench made of
wood would be appropriate
• A bench
– Should be the center of the act
where Dorn, Masha and Arkadina
sit by the river gathered to read a
book.
– The backdrop remains the
lakefront in the depths of the
park.

8. Act III
• Dining room of Sorin’s house
– Doors are to the right and
left of the stage
– A table is at the center of the
room
– Inside is a country-like feel
– Furniture is handcarved
made from stained rustic
wood
– Walls surround the entire
stage with windows showing
the backdrop of the lakefront

9. Act IV
• A room in Sorin’s
house
– Serves as a writing
room for Treplev
– Furniture of a
normal sitting room
– Shelves of books
against the walls

10. Act IV
• Writing desk on the
right hand corner of
the room
– dimly lighted room
lit by a shaded lamp
on the desk
– Papers are are
crumbled and
scattered on the
desk and room,
showing the stress
of the character
Treplev
A dim lamp that would be on
Treplev’s writing desk
scattered papers
portraying the stress
and organization of
Treplev in his writing
room

11. Act IV
• Weather
– It is night time, and it is
stormy and windy
– Audience will be able to
see and hear the storm
by the windows with
the tree branches
hitting them
– setting the tone,
foreshadowing
upcoming events.

12. Sources
• http://web.mmlc.northwestern.edu/~mdenne
r/Drama/plays/Seagull/2seagull.html