Trojan Women Project

1. Trojan Women by Leah Madsen
● Show: ‘The Trojan Women’ adapted by Ellen McLaughlin
● Budget: $3,500
● Venue: Black Box/Found

2. ● Darkness
○ Feeling of no escape
○ Ruins
○ Urban waste
● Distortion
○ Scarcity of resources
○ Lavish lifestyles to nothing
● Devastation
○ Slavery
○ Grievance
○ Aftermath

3. Distortion and Devastation
● The mix of work lights and rubble mixed with the makeshift water
pond to show that there are resources, but limited, and for a
deadly price.
○ Water for emphasis on Poseidon
● Broken Rubble & 90s aesthetic to nod towards the Bosnian War
● I met with my best friend Amra Mucic, whose family immigrated
from Bosnia to America in the 90s during the war, for contextual
and detail questions on the aesthetics of the genocide and
making sure my design was appropriate.

5. Interview with Amra
1.) Where was your family living in Bosnia and
how were they affected during the genocide?
“My mom and sister were in our
hometown, while my dad fought with the
Bosnian Army, so they were separated
for a long time, like most families were.
There was a lot of general emotional
trauma and hopelessness.”

6. Interview with Amra
2.) What do you think is a common misconception that Americans have on
the Bosnian War, and why do you think that it’s severity is not typically
known by Americans?
“I don’t think enough people even know or care enough about
Bosnia to have misconceptions, I often ended up having to
explain to people what it even was because US education
thinks if it didn’t happen to the US then it doesn’t matter, also
the Balkans or Eastern Europe is never on any Western
countries radar. They just don’t care.”

7. Interview with Amra
3.) Going back to Bosnia, how do you think the Cities and aesthetics have
changed in the twenty three years since the war.
“There’s been a lot of rebuilding, but there’s still a lot left to be
fixed after twenty three years. Most land was owned by the
government before the war, and now its not owned by anyone
because the government can’t afford to rebuild it, so there are
a lot of abandoned buildings, war torn buildings, and burned
down houses. Most buildings also still have bullet holes or
mortar shell holes in them, and people live in them.”

8. Interview with Amra
4.) Going back to Bosnia, how do you think the Cities and aesthetics have
changed in the twenty three years since the war.
“Memorials depends on where you live, so in the Republic you
can’t have war memorials erected but that rule is only
enforced on Bosnian Muslims who attempt to build a memorial
and not Serbian communities. Srebrenica has a memorial,
Zenica has a war memorial, Sarajevo has a lot of them. Most
memorials are plaques of names but here are a lot of
museums too.”

9. Distortion and Devastation
- Sarajevo, Bosnia
- Water
- Concrete & Stone
- Capital city

10. Concept Sketch Up #1:
● I ended up not liking it
because I couldn’t
incorporate water, which
is such an important
symbol for Bosnia
● I didn’t incorporate the
balcony and stairs,
which I ended up
regretting
`

11. Distortion and Devastation
● Makeshift fire in the center
as the only source of light
during blackouts
● Dock as a barrier to
audience to make them feel
like their on-looking the
experience and terror but
can’t do anything about it
● Water next to the fire next to
the dirt contrasting the
different natural materials of
the Earth
● Use of fence also makes the
audience feel that the
chorus is trapped as well
from the rest of the parts of
the stage

12. Concept Sketch Up #2: ● Vectorworks corrupted,
but I still have all of my
dimensions.
● Docks:
○ #1: 4’ by 16’10’’
○ #2: 4’ by 43’ 11’’.
■ Both 4 feet tall.
● Chorus Platform:
○ Top Level: 4’ x
16’10’’ & 6’ tall
○ Middle: 6’ x 16’10’’ &
4’ tall
○ Bottom: 2’ x 16’10’’ &
2’ tall.
Top
Middle
Bottom
#1
#2

13. ● Concrete Rubble: 2’0’’ x
8’5’’ & 3’ tall
● Fire Pit: 3’ x 3’ circle
● Pond of Water: 11’12’’ x
16’10’’ - 1’ deep
● Deer Fence Around
Water & Platform: 20’
long and 3’ tall (indicated
by red lines)
Rubble
Rubble
Pit
Pond

14. ● Dock connected to t the
third step out of 12
steps of the staircase
that was already in the
found space that leads
to the balcony.
● Balcony only used for
Opening Sequence & for
Chorus Members

15. More About Concept Sketch Up #2:
A lot of my inspiration is drawn from the devastation in Bosnia’s capital city of
Sarajevo where though there is a large city, there is also influences of lots of
nature. Like Amra said in my interview with her, none of the buildings were ever
rebuilt by the government and there are lots of abandoned areas that are still
devastated by war. I really leaned into this concept in my design, because I
want the audience to feel like they are onlooking an issue that they’ll ultimately
feel awful about since they can’t help. This voyeuristic approach will alienate
the audience and draw attention to the actors in the space.

16. Set Design Costs
Black Pond Liner:
https://www.pondliner.com/20-x-30-20-mil-pe-pond-liner-2?gclid=EAIaIQob
ChMI7sbnsbGT2wIVAZ-fCh3AZQm-EAkYCCABEgKuLfD_BwE - $180
Construction Lights:
https://www.lightbulbs.com/product/sunlite-04223/?source=GooglePPC-Pr
oductAds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgKvN_bGT2wIVBNbACh146wLgEAYYASA
BEgI1NPD_BwE - $42.99 (x3, so $128.97)
Screened Black Dirt:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/40-lb-Topsoil-71140180/100355705 -
$1.47/40 lbs (x3, so $4.50)

17. Set Design Costs
Welded Deer Fence:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-4-ft-x-100-ft-Steel-Welded-Wire-308
312EB/205960859 - $69.98
Black Lattice Fire RIng:
https://www.menards.com/main/heating-cooling/fire-pits-outdoor-heating/b
ackyard-creations-reg-36-black-lattice-fire-ring/dc11-17788/p-144442159874
2-c-12918.htm?tid=1775228458441943838&ipos=15 - 29.99
Fire Pit Safety Base:
http://www.plowhearth.com/fire-pit-safety-base.htm?aff=6443&CAWELAID
=530007710000086886&catargetid=530007710000097820&cadevice=c&gcli
d=EAIaIQobChMI1Oro9Zqc2wIVkAOGCh2DnAH2EAQYAyABEgLOa_D_Bw
E - $249.95

18. Set Design Costs
● Lumber for Dock in a Found Space Setting:
○ Docks
■ #1: 4’ by 16’10’’
■ #2: 4’ by 43’ 11’’.
● Both 4’ tall.
○ Pond Frame
■ Pond of Water: 11’12’’ x 16’10’’ - 1’ deep
○ Platforms
■ Top Level: 4’ x 16’10’’ & 6’ tall
■ Middle: 6’ x 16’10’’ & 4’ tall
■ Bottom: 8’ x 16’10’’ & 2’ tall.
Estimated Price for
Lumber: $1,800
$1800/3.99 = 450 “2x4 x 92-⅝ pre-cut lumber pieces”
(around 960 meters of lumber)
3.99 for one piece of “2 x 4 x 92-5/8" Douglas Fir Stud
Construction Lumber”

19. Set Design Costs Total: $2,463.39
Leaving $1,036.61 for costume design.

20. ● Six chorus members are wearing fitted cotton dresses
that look like they were professional wear previously
but will be tattered and worn. Each chorus member
will have a cleveland green colored dress to hint at
reused militarized clothing.
● No shoes will be worn.
● Hair will start off in a bun, and will
become loose until hair is out at
the end of the show.

21. ● Helen of Troy - Loose short sleeve a
line ‘Sandy Hook Gray’ Dress
● Hecuba - Long sleeve ‘Kendall
Charcoal’ dress and thin scarf
of the same material to wrap
around neck and head

22. ● Andromache: Loose short sleeve a line ‘Kingsport
Grey’ Dress with a rope belt
● Cassandra: Loose short sleeve a line ‘Kendall
Charcoal’ dress that is torn at the bottom, crown
of debris around her head made of old paper and
plastic

23. ● Menelaus: black knit sweater, black cargo jacket,
black beret, assault rifle, binoculars, cleveland
green cargo pants, combat boots

24. ● Athena: Long sleeve ‘Deep Royall’ dress
with Gold belt and Gold Choker, tulle
overlaying to show mysticism but still
blends in with the other characters
● Poseidon: kinsport gray pants and a
sandy hook gray shirt, very 90s
mediterranean balkan style

25. ● Though the literal world of the play takes place in the city of Troy, I imagined the world of Trojan Women as mystically
horrifying in Bosnia, so I wanted the costumes to take from both. Throughout my readings, I have gathered that these
women are living a life of great loss. They have lost their friends, family, and their war. While the wise Hecuba is
surrounded by a world of sadness and tragedy, her daughter Cassandra is in a world of madness and youth, not yet
understanding the power she holds. Though these women lived in different personal worlds, the several other Trojan
women along with Hecuba and Cassandra, share the same glimmer of hope for a better day. Unfortunately, the world
the Trojan Women live in doesn’t get much better. From my point of view, I think that the Trojan women are experiencing
heartbreak, crippling loss, and terror. Everything they once knew is now gone. Their world is on fire yet everything is
internally so cold. The Trojan War is driving both the remaining inhabitants of the land and the Greeks who are invading
utterly insane. War is such a barbaric and dark concept and Euripides allowed the characters of Trojan Women into a
haunting world of hate and confusion. The tone and overall mood that the women feel towards the gods are coarse and
negative, almost as if they are to blame for the tragedies inflicted upon the City of Troy. Overall, the music that I hear
from Trojan Women is a melodramatic elegy.