This document provides information about the production of Oscar Wilde's play "The Importance of Being Earnest". It includes sections on the set design by Jessica Mullen, which aims to establish the late 1800s London setting of a luxurious flat. It also covers the light design by Guy Robertson, which will use various lighting techniques to set the mood and enhance visibility on stage. Finally, it discusses the directorial concept by Jonathan Saade, who plans to portray the play's themes of secret double lives and superficial Victorian society using a realistic style reflective of the elite social class.

1. THE
IMPORTANCE OF
BEING EARNEST
BY OSCAR WIL DE
A C T I
Jessica Mullen, Set design
Guy Robertson, Light design
Jonathan Saade, Director

2. SET DESIGN
Jessica Mullen

3. SET DESIGN OBJECTIVES
 Creating an environment for the performers and their performance
 Helping to set the mood and style of the production
 Helping to distinguish realistic from nonrealistic theatre
 Establishing the locale and period in which the play takes place
 Evolving a design concept in concert with the director and other designers
 Providing a central image or visual metaphor for the production
 Ensuring that the scenery is coordinated with other production elements
 Solving practical design problems

4. SET DESIGNER’S DUTY
 The set designer is responsible for creating the visual world in
which the characters live.
 He or she decides on colors, visual style, where the play is taking
place, and what time of day.
 The set designers chose when to use backdrops and when to bring
in props.
 Set designers chose the atmosphere for the play.

5. Basic setting
 1890s
 London
 Algernon’s luxurious flat
 Opening setting: evening
SETTING

6.  Humorous/Light
~In diction and subject
~Full title is: The Importance of
Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for
Serious People
 Friendly
~Algernon and Jack (Earnest)
 Prestigious
~They both are wealthy
MOOD

7. SET DESIGN
Even though this part of the play is set in
a place of wealth with much extravagance,
the set is a little more simplistic due to the
stage and budget. Everything that is on
stage, however, does need to look high
class, and a little older in date. Nice
furniture, embellishment in background
texture and patterns, neat and clean as if
by a maid, and fresh and new (for the
time) items that are involved in each act.

8. LIGHT DESIGN
Guy Robertson

9. OBJECTIVES OF LIGHT
DESIGN
 Time and Place
 Visibility
 Shape and Form
 Mood and Style
 Focus and Composition
 Rhythm of Visual Movement
 Reinforcement of the Central Image
The controllable properties of light that can be manipulated to achieve the desired effects are:
intensity, color, distribution (position, type, and direction of the light), and movement.

10. TIME AND PLACE
 The color, shade, and intensity of the lighting can suggest the time of day, the
season of the year (angle of the sun), and place (indoor or outdoor light).
 Act 1 is set in the 1890s in the morning-room of Algernon’s flat on Half
Moon Street in London, United Kingdom early in the day.
 Lights change each time that there is a shift in location.

11. VISIBILITY
 The number one reason for lighting is so that the audience can see the performer’s faces and their
actions onstage.
 McCandles method will be used to provide visibility so light will meet the performers at 45O angles
and from directly above.
 Soft-edged Fresnel spotlights will be flooded over a large area of the stage.
 Flood lights will be used on the boarders of the set.
 Dimmers will be used to control intensity.

12. SHAPE AND FORM
 The performers and
the set are enhanced with
lighting and color from
the top, the side, and the
back of the stage.
 Lighting will come
from multiple directions
to emphasize dimension
(McCandles method).

13. MOOD AND STYLE
 Manipulating of the color and
intensity of light will help establish
the mood of the play; also, it will
indicate whether the setting of the
play is realistic or nonrealistic.
 The tone is light and amusing yet
the deception creates a dark sinister
side.
 Act 1- Gels will be used to create
bright, warm amber tones.

14. FOCUS AND COMPOSITION
 Keep the audience focused on
the central action of the play;
controlling the spill of light in front
of and behind the actor allows fluid
movement across the stage.
 Higher intensity light will be
illuminating the seating area in the
morning-room in Algernon’s flat so
that the audience will focus.

15. RHYTHM OF VISUAL
MOVEMENT
Choreographing the
shifts in light and
scenery draws the
attention of the
audience to the action
of the play.

16. REINFORCEMENT OF
THE CENTRAL IMAGE
 The lighting must be consistent with the overall style and
mood to create the intended theatre experience.
 The central theme is the hypocrisy of the Victorian society.

17. JOHNATHAN SAADE
DIRECTOR

18. OBJECTIVES/JOBS OF THE
DIRECTOR
• Help choose a script.
• Involved in casting.
• Help shape the SPINE of the play and steward
the THEME through all of the design elements.
• Find a style that will help illuminate the spine.
• Develop a directorial concept for the play.

19. SCRIPT
The reason I chose the Importance of Being Earnest by
Oscar Wilde is because I find the script to be extremely
interesting and entertaining.
Casting
• Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack and Earnest
• William Shatner as Algernon Moncrieff and Bunbury
• Alex Kingston as Gwendolen Fairfax
• Dame Helen Mirren as Lady Bracknell
• Morgan Freeman as Lane

20. SPINE OF THE PLAY
 The spine of this script is the how the main characters maintain a secret
double life.
 Also, the victorian society who were obsessed with the superficial and
materialistic life is exposed in this play.

21. THE STYLE OF THE PLAY
 The style that will help illuminate
the spine is a realist style based on the
characteristics of the period´s luxurious
lifestyle of elite society.

22. DIRECTORIAL CONCEPT
 The play has a feeling of luxury, sharpness, and exaggerated polished
refinement.
 With the use of fashionable late Victorian furniture, exquisite
wallpaper, wooden floor, elegant carpets and ArtNoveau details we can
better portrait the setting of this play.
 Also, the refined and sensuous elements of pleasure, such as pieces of
art, music and even food (particularly the cucumber sandwich) and tea in
the function of an obsession with superficiality.