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Plop! In the Ocean – Getting started

Hi! My name is Jenny Booth. I’m a set and costume designer you can find out more about my designs and illustrations here >  https://www.jennybooth.co.uk/.

Getting started!

Hopscotch Theatre Company have invited me to be the designer on their brand-new production Plop! In the Ocean written by Sarah Mooney. It’s also been kindly supported by the Leche Trust who create lots of amazing opportunities for artists to be involved in making amazing theatre. Plop! is a super exciting story for 3 – 7 year olds about looking after our oceans and each other.

An artist takeover!

Can you swing your starlight over that way at all?”

I’m going to be doing an artist take over here on Hopscotch Theatre Company’s blog following the creative process all the way from script to school! Part of the research and development for Plop! In the Ocean is looking into sustainable design practice so that we can work to create a show that completely supports its own environmentally friendly message.

This is something I’ve been really interested in developing further in my design work so ‘Plop!’ presents the perfect opportunity for me to rise to the challenge and learn from those are the forefront of sustainable design!

Work has started on Plop! In the Ocean so I thought I’d share with you my part in the creative process (pt 1) The creative team have all been sent the script. My starting point as the designer is to search the script for all the clues the writer has left for us.

I go through the script and highlight anything that might inform our set or costumes; themes, time periods, props, descriptive words, character traits, colours, stage directions or passage of time – anything that sparks an idea or might inform our aesthetics. I keep a nice big list for myself.

Finding the details and problem solving

I think about how the show and the characters evolve over the identified time frame and how the set can mirror this in its own visual language. Does it get chaotic and have a resolve? does the tide come out and in? How do the characters change? We want to make sure we can we keep it dynamic and exciting from start to end to match the pace of the story. We identify key moments that excite us and equally ones that pose challenges. In ‘Plops!’ case this might be climbing to the stars or plastic ‘burping out a toilet’ and brainstorm creative solutions to these moments.

At this point I like to make quick sketches or collages to help visualise any ideas. I try not to spend too long on any of these or to get too attached to any one approach.

Working remotelyPlop! In the Ocean

Our creative team has been meeting over Zoom, this includes the director, Calum and Thomas the Producer sharing ideas and bouncing back and forth. We try not to be precious about any early concepts and remember the end user – in this case, 3-7 year olds and what they will get out of it. We are really enjoying the process so far and looking forward to seeing it take form!

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