This document provides details for the production of a play called "Dollhouse", including casting choices, directorial visions, and design concepts. It summarizes the director's goals to portray the complexities of modern marriage through a stylized set and lighting design meant to represent deception. Major characters like Nora Helmer and Terry Helmer will be costumed to depict their roles and financial situations realistically within the modern setting of the play.

1. INTRODUCTION TO
THEATER
SPRING 2014
Collaboration Project
Group: 38
Pei-Ju Chen / David Hill
Emily Nguyen / Wilman Reyes

2. DOLLHOUSE
BY: REBECCA GILMAN
 Premiered on June 19, 2005 at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago
 Adapted from ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen, published in 1879
 A view into the intricacies of relationships and the difficulties seen
therein

3. DIRECTOR
Casting, Theme, and Visual Fluidity
By: David Hill

4. CASTING
In Order of Appearance…..

5. NORA HELMER
Charlize Theron
Notable Roles
• The Devil’s Advocate (1997)
• Monster (2003)
• Hancock (2008)
• Prometheus (2012)
Current Projects
• Dark Places
• A Million Ways to Die in the West
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• The Last Face

6. IRIS
Conchata Ferrell
Notable Roles
• Circle Repertory Company
(Broadway) – various stage roles
• Supporting roles (Edward
Scissorhands, Erin Brockovich, Mr.
Deeds, etc)
• Love, Loss, and What I Wore (Off
Broadway Production)
Current Occupation
• Berta (Two and a Half Men)

7. TERRY HELMER
Sean Penn
Notable Roles
• The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
• The Thin Red Line (1998)
• I Am Sam (2001)
• Mystic River (2003)
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Current Occupation
• The Gunman (2014)

8. PETE
Matt Frewer
Notable Roles
• Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989)
• Dawn of the Dead (2004)
• Watchmen (2009)
• 50/50 (2011)
Current Occupation
• The Knick (TV mini-series: 2014)

9. KRISTINE LINDE
Angie Harmon
Notable Roles
• Law & Order: SVU (1999-2000)
• Fun with Dick and Jane (2005)
• Seraphim Falls (2006)
Current Occupation
• Rizzoli & Isles (TV: 2010-present)

10. MARTA
Melissa McCarthy
Notable Roles
• Charlie’s Angels (2000)
• Bridesmaids (2011)
• Identity Thief (2013)
• The Heat (2013)
Current Occupation
• Mike & Molly (2010-current)

11. MAX, MACEY, AND SKYLER
HELMER
Mia Talerico as Skyler
(Good Luck Charlie; TV Disney)
Atticus Shaffer as Max
(The MIddle; TV Disney)
Macey
(Will not be cast due
to age restrictions)
At the age of 3, a
Doll shall be used

12. RAJ PATEL
Kal Penn
Notable Roles
• Kumar Patel (Harold and
Kumar)
• Lawrence Kutner (House)
• Kevin Venkataraghavan (How I
met your Mother)
Current Occupation
• Associate Director of the Office
of Public Engagement (White
House)

13. STYLE
The Atmospheric Conditions…..

14. • With a modern setting, the style of Dollhouse will exemplify a modern
materialistic nature, where value is placed on ‘things’ and nothing is as it
seems
• Aspects of realism will be used to aid in the portrayal of Good and Evil
within the play; black and white does not exist, instead there are multitudes
of, 50 if you will, Shades of Grey.
• This will be shown in the style of costumes, style of the sets, and the
lighting.
• While the sets will give a sense of wealth, at closer inspection the will be
shown as a farce, giving the illusion of wealth but being of standard middle-
class décor.

15. THEME
The Glue that Binds…..

16. The IKEA Impression
Sets will be done as if they
are straight out of an IKEA
magazine.
(That is to say, a cover of
perfection that hides the ugly
truth)
Being Christmas time, the décor
will match a holiday theme in
such a way as to give the
impression of an illusion of
deceit

17. A detailed account in the troubles of Modern Marriage, Dollhouse
gives us insight into the complexities that trouble relationships.
This is a play about deceit, love, and an overwhelming unwillingness
to part with what is considered to be a ‘standard’ of living.
Our production of Dollhouse will exemplify these quandaries and
show the many shades of grey that lie between the black and white
nature of good and evil

18. LIGHT DESIGN
Lights… Camera… ACTION
By: Wilman Reyes

19. SETTING
Creating the Mood…..

20.  Very wealthy living room, so stage will be bright and vivid in the
beginning
 Reason is, dark rooms are usually associated with poor settings
• VS

21. ACT ONE
 Lights will shine the whole stage, with colors red and green scattered
about show that it’s the holiday season. Brings a lively mood.

22. ACT ONE
 When a character enters or leaves through the front door, lights will
brighten, because of the snow outside and the sun reflecting light off
of it. It reinforces that the play takes place in Chicago, where it snows a
lot during the winter.

23. ACT 2
 Same light design as Act 1, but without red and green lights since it’s
after Christmas
 When Nora tries on different options for her costume for New
Years, the lights should dim and focus on her and Pete
 This creates a more intimate space between them when Pete tries to
flirt with her

24. ACT 2
 When Nora explains her portrait to Kristine, the lights should shine
on the portrait so the audience can see it’s the subject of the
conversation

25. ACT 2
 During the end of the act, lights will dim around Nora and Terry to show
intimacy.

26. ACT 3
 Beginning of the act, the stage will be lit but not as bright as it was,
since it’s close to midnight. Party lights will be over the set to show that
there’s a party upstairs. It brings a festive mood.

27. ACT 3
 As Raj and Kristine talk and Kristine ends up confessing her love,
the lights should focus on them. This set up will follow up with Terry
and Nora’s conversation afterwards.

28. ACT 3
 Stage should brighten when Pete shows up, and then darken again to
put Nora on the spotlight when Terry reads his email. When darkened,
the lights should have a deep blue hue to show her resentment.

29. ACT 3
 When the fight breaks out between the two, the stage should fill
with red lights to give off the mood of anger

30. ACT 3
 When the fight is over and they start drinking, lights should go
back to normal to a soft white brightness, then fade when the act is
over

31. SET DESIGN
Where Shall we ACT!?
By: Emily Nguyen

32.  General Objectives
• Creates an environment for performers and the
performance.
• Helps set the mood and style of the play.
• Help distinguish realistic and unrealistic aspects of
the play.
• Displays the period the play takes place.
• Provides a central image for the play.

33. TYPE OF SET
 Why?
• The play takes place in a house
with many rooms.
• There are many entrances and
exits within the play.
• For the scenes done on the
front porch at the end of the
play, you would not see it take
place on the set.
Right Stage
Wing Stage Left Stage
Wing
Audience
Proscenium Theatre

34. ENVIRONMENT
Fancy and high-class. Care-free and rich.
Immense amount of
fantasy, limited amount
of reality.

35. MOOD AND STYLE
 Style
• Upper-class
• How?
• Many rooms in
the house.
• Fancy furniture.
• Many decorations.
• Mood
• False happiness and
oblivious to the truth.
• How?
• The excessive
decorations in
the house.

36. REALITY AND
IMAGINATION
 Reality:
• Nora and Terry are poor and in debt to Raj.
• How?
• The exquisite items are fake.
• Imagination:
• Nora has all the money to
spend, and Terry’s promotion
would make their life even
better.
• Nora’s father left money for
Nora and her family after his
death.
• There are many exquisite
items around the house.

37. TIME PERIOD
 21st Century
• Modern technology (computer,
television, and telephones).
• House design

38. Stage Floor
Front
Door
Back
Door
S
t
a
i
r
s
Front Room/
Hallway Room:
• Consists of
family portrait
and coat
hanger.
Study Room:
• Terry’s study
place
containing his
computer.
TV Room
• A room for the
kids, used in a
few scenes when
the kids come
home. Could also
be the room
Marta used.
Upstairs Living
Room:
• Where the
party took
place.
Living Room:
• Consists of
fireplace,
Christmas tree
(in some scenes),
and Couch.
Kitchen:
• Where Dr.
Pete entered
and spoke to
Terry.
SET LAYOUT

39. COSTUME DESIGN
Weaving the Threads
By: Pei-Ju Chen

40. STYLE/SETTING
 The style of the play is very modern with everything neat and
polished.
 The play takes place in December of 2004 in a condo in west
Lincoln Park, Chicago.

41. MAJOR CHARACTERS

42.  Nora Helmer (age:32)
o In the play she is portrayed as a dreamy and a little
bit airhead kind of housewife that loves to shop and
often refuses to face reality.
o She is a housewife whose only job is to shop, cook,
and play with the children. She would be in outfits
similar to the picture located on the right of the
slide because of a few reasons.
o First: She loves to shop.
o Second: Hired a house cleaner and a nanny.
o Third: Bought a condo with borrowed money
o Conclusion: she likes to live extravagant while in
reality her financial status might not be the
best.
o Throughout the entire play she felt like she
resembled a doll that lives in a dollhouse (their
condo) who waits for her owner (her husband, Terry)
to pet her every now and then.

43.  Terry Helmer (age: 33)
o Depicted as a man with very high self-
esteem and often contradicted himself. He
spoils his wife, Nora, with all these money
to go shop with and based on the dictions
used we could infer the affections he has
for his wife but he would raise his voice at
her and at the end of the play even called
her a “retarded cunt”.
o Is the division head manager at bank one in
the mid-market lending department
o His occupation was what allowed Raj (the
person Nora borrowed money from) to be
able to blackmail Nora.
o The performer acting as Terry would put on
some sort of business attire as he leaves
for work and then would change into semi-
casual clothing while at home.
Home Work

44.  Raj Patel (age: 33)
o The antagonist of the play, he blackmails Nora but
later on decides to drop everything because of
Kristine Linde.
o He was one of those loners in college who had bad
social skills and had hard working parents who
struggled to pay for the tuition fees of him and his
sister. During college he was accused of stealing
money from young republicans as well. Kristine (his ex-
girlfriend) had also left him which contributed to his
feeling of hatred.
o Raj is working on stem-cell research.
o As for the clothings to be worn for the character Raj,
it would things like a sweater with some jeans or a simple
t-shirt with khaki pants.

45. MINOR CHARACTERS

46.  Pete (age: 33)
o He was the old roommate of Terry Helmer, visits
the Helmer family quite often. Towards the end of
the play he reveals that he visits the family in order
to see Nora and shows his affections towards her.
o Worked as an endocrinologist.
o Pete also served as a catalyst for Nora’s
realization that Terry is not treating her the way
she deserves.
o He would dress in one of those button down
collar shirts along with some khaki pants.

47.  Kristine Linde (age: 34)
o An old friend of Nora; worked as the R.A. while Nora
was in college.
o Depicted as a very independent single woman who
turned out to be Raj Patel’s ex-girlfriend. She was
unemployed when she visited Nora because she spent all
her money on traveling by herself after leaving Raj.
o In the end of the play, she also successfully
convinced Raj to stop the blackmail and drop everything.
o The actress playing the role of Kristine would dress
in a very simplistic but stylish at the same time kind of
clothing like the picture shown.

48.  Iris (age:30)
o The house cleaner, only appeared in the play
for a short period.
o A minor character that does not affect the
theme too much but it shows the extravagant
life the family lives
o Would dress in casual clothing when she is
out with Nora or another family member and
when she is cleaning as well.
 Marta (age:30)
o The nanny, portrayed as a quiet and
responsible employee and a single mom with
one daughter.
o Although she appeared in many of the scenes,
she does not relate to the theme too much.
Also contributes to show the luxury life the
family lives.
o Wears casual clothing like Iris but would
carry around a bag of children supplies (ex.
Snacks, water) if they leave the condo.

49.  Macey (age: 3), Max (age: 4), Skyler (age 6)
o They are the children of Nora and Terry Helmer, but only
appears in a few scenes.
o We could only infer they are very lively and energetic kids
from the play script but nothing else about their personalities
were hinted or stated.
o Max would put on outfits similar to the one on the far right
o Macey and Skyler would dress in very cute girly outfits,
preferably dresses.v

50. THE END
The production lifecycle of Dollhouse..