Breaking down at the designing stage.

Images of my designs to be uploaded later! I'm finding that I'm producing design after design but on paper I'm thinking my ideas seem too simple but the fact is although they are simple in stage design and layout it's more focus on the use of colour, lighting and image projection that is going to complete my set for me!

The three main scenes of Ashputtel are:
1 - Ashputtel's House - mainly the kitchen.
2 - The Tree/Mother Spirit - Wish ("magic") element.
3 - Prince's Castle

My concern is that Ashputtel is such a fast moving play, and the story 'flits' quickly between the 3 scenes which I don't think will allow for a over-complex set design; something I wouldn't want either - so I think it is going to be better transitionally to keep the design simple but each different scene change will be identified through the lighting and projections that signal the change and contrast between the scenes.

Although the scene I am focussing on is when Ashputtel visits the Castle the third time and loses her slipper as she runs away from the Prince, I'm having to take into consideration the other scenes too because of how they transition!

Colour ideas to identify between the different scenes:
1 - Ashputtel's Kitchen - Dull tones - greys, whites and browns, based on the sort of colour use in Quills (screenshots to follow)
2 - The Tree/Mother Spirit - whites, blues, blacks
3 - Prince's castle - red, golds, patterns (patterns but be presented through video projection to bring the grandeur to life rather than just flat colours)

If I were a rich man ....

... I'd have sat for as many portraits as Louis XIV did! There are numerous paintings of King Louis to highlight his grand lifestyle. I love the over-top'ness' of it all, there is nothing simple about his clothes, everything is detailed and over-done, the colours exploding out of the painting, this is something combined with looking into the baroque style of grand living that I want to focus on for the costume design as well as the stage design. The Palace/Castle of the Prince needs to be over the top to contrast against the kitchen that Ashputtel dwells in. I think the patterning, which I'm particularly liking in the bottom image is something that I want to work in, so not necessarily doing a full-on palace layout but giving suggestions of that through materials and colours and patterns, this being because the scenes swap around so quickly I want a clear swap between the grandeur and the hovel!!