Last Train to Nibroc
An intimate, warm playing space carved inside a much larger proscenium, using reclaimed barn wood, a slight rake, and a long backdrop to support closeness and quiet change in Last Train to Nibroc.
- Year
- 2016
- Company
- Okoboji Summer Theatre
- Project
- Drama
- Location
- Okoboji, IA
Scale was the first design problem on Last Train to Nibroc. The script is intimate, but the Okoboji Summer Theatre proscenium was large, so I built a smaller textured frame inside the theatre using reclaimed Kentucky barn wood.
That frame immediately compressed the stage into something more personal. A slight rake improved sightlines and gave the environment a quiet forward pressure, while the barn wood carried warmth, history, and rural honesty.
A 30-foot backdrop supported the journey between locations without breaking the rhythm of the conversations. The scenic design was not about spectacle. It was about proximity, memory, and giving stillness enough architecture to hold.
Creative team
- Playwright
- Arlene Hutton
- Director
- Janice Goldberg
- Scenic Design
- Brandon PT Davis
- Costume Design
- Kristin Cook
- Lighting Design
- Josh Hiser
- Sound Design
- Michael Burke