Description: This production was performed on our mainstage in Ethington Theatre at Grand Canyon University. Our scenic budget for the show was around $5,000. Throughout this process I was so blessed to have an incredible assistant scenic designer, Abbie Roberson, whom I got to teach as we went through the process. She was an incredible help in researching, decision making, building, & painting throughout the experience and also designed the railings. I attended production meetings, conducted research, collaborated with the director and other designers, created a mood board, drew multiple renderings and ground plans, created elevations, managed teams of volunteers helping with the construction, taught volunteers new scenic painting, carpentry, and welding skills, and fell in love with the sweet town of Grovers Corners.

Concept: One of my life-long favorite quotes is by Robert Brault: Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things. Thorton Wilder’s well known play Our Town, weaves this beautiful message into the hearts of its audience. As the scenic designer for this production, I strove to paint this concept into the set. Claude Pensis, the director of the production, articulated that it was the people in Grover’s Corners who made the town, rather than what was in it, and furthermore, that this concept was universal across cultures and time. Inspired by this, I asked all members of the cast and production team to send in the oldest photograph they had of their furthest back ancestor. This project alone was very moving as Ulysses S. Grant and
Hinmatóowyalahtq̓it, also known as Chief Joseph, were some of the portraits I received. I then compiled the images into a collage to be painted on the stage floor with different faces facing different directions to accommodate our arena seating. The paintings on the side of the arena seating boxes show universally recognizable locations in any given town, including those mentioned in Grover’s Corners.
Much of the play begs the question, what is the purpose of life? The book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible explores this same concept, especially when looking at the linear progression of life. Ecclesiastes 3:19-20 cries, “Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return” (NIV). Inspired by this, portraits hung above the audience in clockwise pattern, showcasing life from time as a baby, to that of an elderly man. Additionally, the stage floor was coated in a unique gravel like texture, simulating that of the ground, dirt, or dust. Thus, all of the hand painted ancestor portraits were drawn in dust. In the center of the painting are two hands showing God intentionally designing every human as well as what people He will sew into their life. The little things we universally enjoy in life are intentional little blessings God designed specifically for us, and though they are often taken for granted in the moment, we can often see His goodness more clearly in hindsight.

GCU News Article: https://news.gcu.edu/college-of-arts-and-media/ethington-season-opener-urges-theatregoers-to-find-beauty-in-the-ordinary/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKr-kDUZ0w0

Message from Director: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu3tl0Fvy0E