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Stage Design, UK

Mentor
Leslie Zhang
Student
Zhang
Tags
Design
UK
Postgraduate

Project Statement

Project 1: Madame White Snake

Project Description

Madame White Snake is a traditional Chinese myth and a classic of Chinese literature. It tells the love story of the White Snake (Bai Suzhen) and Xu Xian: the White Snake takes human form and falls in love with Xu Xian, but the couple endure many trials because of the monk Fahai's interference. Blending elements of time, fantasy and the supernatural, the legend explores the complex relationship between humans and spirits and the transcendent power of love.

This project is a stage design for Madame White Snake that reinterprets the classic tale through innovative visual and spatial design. Combining virtual and real modes of expression, and drawing on visual metaphor and artistic expression, the design portrays the tangled emotions between the White Snake and Xu Xian, as well as Fahai's intervention. Multi-layered sets, lighting effects and prop design create a performance space full of fantasy and dramatic tension.

Design Concept

  • Blending the virtual and the real to explore the complex relationships between human and spirit, and between love and the forces that oppose it.

Core Objective

  • To recreate the classic plot of Madame White Snake through stage design, showcasing its literary and artistic value and giving the audience an immersive theatrical experience.

Character and Costume Research

  • Xu Xian (XU): An ordinary young scholar; his costume reflects his gentle, kind-hearted nature.
  • Bai Suzhen (BAI): The pure and mysterious White Snake in human form; her costume highlights her elegance and spiritual quality.
  • Fahai (ONG): A stern, imposing monk; his costume emphasises his authority and coldness.

Stage Design Highlights

  • Multi-layered sets and lighting design convey the story's shifts in time and space.
  • Virtual reality technology deepens the audience's sense of immersion and creates fantastical visual effects.
  • Props and costumes are closely tied to the characters' personalities and the plot, heightening the production's dramatic power.

Project 2: Orphan

Project Details

  • Type: Musical Performance
  • Stage designer: Zhe Zhang
  • Dates: November 2022 – March 2023
  • Location: Nanjing

Project Description

1. Psychological State and Behaviour Analysis

  • The project explores behavioural differences between the individual and the biological group, particularly in terms of emotion, anxiety and sensitivity.
  • In social activities, modern individuals have gained more emotional support, yet they do not fully engage in interaction. These behavioural differences are linked to psychological activity and may manifest as high energy levels, rapid change, economic conditions and instability.

2. Route Design & Analysis

  • The project involves designing a 1.0-metre highway route, with outdoor settings of 1–5 km chosen for the presentation.
  • The route design takes multiple attributes into account and is precisely controlled with laser lines, avoiding the tangling problems of traditional ropes.

3. Choreography

  • The project includes a choreography component; specific details are not described in the documentation.

4. Model Making

  • A model of an abandoned factory was built, showing the lighting design in detail.
  • Laser lines replace traditional ropes, offering greater precision and control and avoiding the problem of tangled ropes.

Summary

This project combines musical performance, psychological analysis, route design, choreography and model making into a multidimensional art form, exploring the behavioural differences and psychological states of individuals and groups.

Project 3: And Then There Were None

Project Details

  • Type: Drama
  • Stage designer: Zhe Zhang
  • Dates: July–December 2023
  • Location: Nanjing

Project Description

Design Details

  • The stage design uses clean geometric shapes and flowing lines, giving it a minimalist, modern feel.
  • The stage layout and props take proportion and asymmetry into account to ensure visual harmony.
  • The technical drawings show steep rocky slopes and a graduated topographic map, creating a dramatic atmosphere.
  • The central partition of the stage is made of green walls and golden stone, and the ceiling and floor were also designed with frequency and visual effect in mind.

Research on the Props

  • The props are based mainly on simple geometric shapes, with flowing lines and a modern style.
  • Their proportions and style are kept relatively simple, ensuring a sense of harmony across the whole stage.

Sketch

  • The first draft featured a simple interior scene, with the set and props made up of 20th-century European-style furniture.
  • Stairs, a balcony and curtains add depth and a sense of space to the stage.
  • Projection is used to convey the life-or-death tension the characters feel in the story, although projections on the floor may be a blind spot for the audience.

New Design

  • An ornate retro style (Art Deco) with overall symmetry creates the solemn atmosphere of a courtroom.
  • The left and right staircases are of different heights, reflecting the class differences between the characters.

Storyboard

  1. Act 1, Scene 1:

    • The scene is set in the living room of a villa on Indian Island, luxuriously furnished with a balcony, stairs, sofas and tables. An oil painting and a fireplace are key elements at the entrance to the stage.

  2. Act 2, Scene 1:

    • The next morning, the house has been cleaned, beams of light shine in through the pipework, and the characters try to escape.

  3. Act 2, Scene 2:

    • Tension rises on the island as the characters search for a way out; the flames in the fireplace change as the plot unfolds.

  4. Act 2, Scene 3:

    • At night, the nursery rhyme stops, and the oil painting and fireplace begin to change, hinting at the characters' fate.

  5. Act 3, Scene 1:

    • Vera and Lombard grow suspicious of each other, and Vera finally kills Lombard.

  6. Act 3, Scene 2:

    • Having judged and killed everyone else, the judge passes judgement on his own actions and takes his own life; the flames in the fireplace symbolise the story's ending.

Insights Beyond the Timeline

These three "battles" taught me that the stage is not the end point of design but a microscope for human nature. From the lasers of Orphan to the water curtain of Madame White Snake, technology always serves emotion; from chasing symmetry to embracing imbalance, perfectionism must ultimately yield to truth. The model workshop at 3 a.m., sketches yellowed by coffee stains, the calloused hands of the props crew… these fragments add up to a view more dazzling than anything under the spotlight.

Looking back now, my greatest growth was not learning "how to design a stage" but understanding "why we need the stage" — it is a mirror that reflects all of humanity's obsessions, flaws and tenderness.