The designs for Medea needed to be set in front of Medea's house. The Greeks are known for their splendid gardens, sculpted columns, and inner courtyards. Therefore I took the garden theme and included it in almost all aspects of the design. Color was also a major factor as Greek structures are primarily white, which creates a lighting and costuming problem.
Since the play was Greek, I used a Greek garden as my main aspect for the design. No Greek structure is complete without plenty of columns. Therefore, columns need to be strategically placed around the set without blocking sightlines. For that reason the columns are located at the edges of the design against the walls. The steps towards the front lead down from the house onto the ground creating varying levels and also adding to the rough carved stone look to the stage. The column planters make one feel as if they are in that carefully tended Greek garden. Upstage one can spy a fountain surrounded by columns. These are placed to hint at an inner courtyard such as those in real Greek houses. Finally the little stepping-stones give the appearance that you are outside as many people have a stone pathway that leads from the house to the road.
The white decorative columns standout incredibly against the marbled walls of the home. The marble walls give the appearance of stone and texture to the walls making them feel real. The gray marbled walls also remove the lighting and costuming disaster. The gray shade is just enough to not cause a problem and not far enough away from Greek architecture to lose the realism in the design. The garden begins upstage where one can see the inner courtyard of the house. One can see the carefully sculpted columns on either side of a glorious fountain. The fountain and planters gives the neutral set a splash of color giving some variance to create a happy feeling about the stage.
The colors and aspects of the design give the feeling of a real Greek house, without creating any staging problems.