Too often, the technicians behind the whimsical and fantastical productions of Westmont’s Theatre Program go underappreciated. Behind the soliloquizing actors and nail-biting action scenes, there are countless technicians and designers responsible for bringing to life the world that the actors live in. From lighting design, to prop management, to carpentry, to sound design, to set design—the work that doesn’t have a face assigned to it unfortunately becomes often taken for granted.
With the closing of Westmont’s 2024 Fall Play—Deadline— audiences were flabbergasted by the intricacies of the massive set; a gothic Victorian-era mansion tucked away on the cliffs of a dark island off the coast of Nova Scotia. A small barista station was set up near the grand staircase, next to a deck that led to a bay window and two secret passageways behind bookshelves. Grand chandeliers hung from the ceiling in one of the first box sets Westmont has produced in a long while— the set of Deadline.
Margaret Donley, the designer of this epic set, joins us today as this issue’s “Artist of the Issue.” Margaret’s been involved in tech theatre since Freshman year— she first made the decision to join after receiving a flyer at Rolling Hills Middle School, and deciding it seemed fun to do. She is currently 17 years old, and a junior here at Westmont! Aside from playing water polo shortly in her freshman year, Margaret can mostly be found in the theatre or C-Trains, because tech usually takes up most of her time.
How long did it take to design the set?
The designing process? Oh, the original design— I did it in one hour, one night. But throughout the process of building it, the set changed so much. Each step that I worked on— I’d say an eighth changed every single time. It was different from Sherlock in that Sherlock was in very small portions. There were at least four different sets, and each took an hour or so to do.
What sources did you use as inspiration?
Well, for both designing Sherlock (Westmont’s Fall Play in 2023) and Deadline, I was looking for Victorian era stuff, because they’re both around that area. Sherlock is just a lot of, “What does a Victorian bedroom look like? An apartment bedroom, specifically.” or “What would an office look like?”
And then for Deadline, it was definitely, “What is a Gothic Victorian?” This is dramatic. What I originally looked at were B’s (Jeff Bengford) inspiration photos, most of which, unfortunately, were AI generated. So, I had to look for more specific things, because a gothic Victorian mansion is more of a fantastical thing, which is why most of the pictures were AI. So since then, I have looked at the wainscoting in the Victorian era. And then once I found that, then it’s more piecing it together, instead of just looking at the picture and saying, “Yeah, I think we can do that.”
What’s the basic process of set designing?
The basic thing you need is communication. With the director, with the lighting designers, etc. And from that, you can look at the script, or any other resources–like people that have done this play. And after that, it’s really about taking those things and coming up with your own designs, and making sure you have a lot of paperwork. It’s important to have the paperwork, so when people are helping you, they know what is happening.
Are you planning to continue with this in college?
Oh, maybe. I don’t think I’d major in it, but I think it would be a cool way to interact with the community.
Why did you choose set design between all of the options in tech theatre?
Well, I do enjoy painting and art– it’s one of the most direct creative things you can do with theatre—despite all of it being very creative. It’s that you have more freedom in a set design compared to a props or lighting design. You just have a lot more space to work in set design. And painting’s really fun, you know? Except when it gets on your hands and you’re mostly allergic to the paint—so that’s not fun.
Do you have a favorite art design in theater?
My favorite set of a show that Westmont has done is “Into the Woods.” My favorite set design that I created was Deadline. While I was working on Footloose and Sherlock, I was still trying to figure things out.
If you had full creative control over a show, which show would you choose?
I would choose a show like Suessical. Something whimsical and magical like that. When I was in elementary school, I was in a couple plays—like Suessical. The design itself, based on the books, looks very fun and colorful. I do a lot of woodworking, so exploring other methods of building a set would be fun to explore, too.
Below are some pictures of marvelous Margaret, and some of her designs as well!
