GC5: Evaluation of In the Heights

IntroductionThe product I created for in the Heights was a flat for the set. More specifically, I created flat 5 on stage right. This was used to give the illusion that it was the door of an apartment above another apartment on the lower deck.

Pros A strength of my piece was that it fits in the social context of the play. The play is set in the borough of Washington Heights in New York. Washington Heights is a close South American community that are quite poor. So I showed this by dirtying the flat up by dry brushing dark shades of brown and black on to the flat. This gave the illusion that the flat was dirty and in a poor community. This fits in social context with the play.

Another strength of my flat is that we used cladding to give the illusion that it was bricks. We used polystyrene bricks so it

wouldn’t weigh the set down and it was 3D so it further gave the illusion of bricks. As in my first point we also “dirtied up” the bricks by dry brushing darker shades of brown/black on to the polystyrene. This fits in with the social context of the play because it gives the illusion that the neighbourhood is poor and run-down.

Looking at the whole set, there are lots of areas that worked well. For example, the bodega (shop) was painted vibrant colours to show the audience that the community is vibrant and colourful. Also the awning on the bodega is old and dirty. This shows that the bodega although colourful, is in a run-down neighbourhood. Both these points link in with the social context of this play. A colourful close knit community but they live in a poor area.

Next to the bodega there is the salon. We painted to salon pink to fit in in with the vibrant colours of the bodega next door. On the edges of the salon we have polystyrene bricks which help it blend in with the rest of the set. Also with a full female staff working at the salon we thought that pink was the correct colour and this spoon feeds the audience that the salon is run by girls.

Finally, at the back of the set there was steps leading up to backdrop of the bridge. The steps leading up to the bridge we painted grey to give the illusion that is was concrete and we also stuck polystyrene bricks on to steps dry brushed them dark grey to dirty them up to give the illusion that they were run down. This fits in socially with the play. Furthermore, the bridge is based on the George Washington Bridge which overlooks Washington Heights. We used rope to make it look like the supports on a bridge. We used 4 flats to make the archway of the

bridge. 2 flats placed horizontal and 2 flats vertical either side of the archway. We painted them brown to make it fit in with the play. This fits in geographically with the play.

ConsFirstly, the glue that help the polystyrene bricks in place melted the

polystyrene which meant if the brick wasn’t stuck down quick enough it wouldn’t stick and the brick would have to be replaced wasting materials. If we were to improve this we would use a different glue and test it first to see if it didn’t melt the polystyrene.

Also another practical issue with the set is that the polystyrene flaked in little balls. This created 2 problems in its self. Firstly, the polystyrene had to be swept up just hours before the show. And the second problem was we painted the bricks then stuck them on and as the polystyrene balls came off the paint went on the set floor and the floor had to be moped. This happened just hours before the show.

ConclusionIn conclusion I think the set was success as the set worked well both practically and contextually. If we were to improve I would use a different adhesive to stick the polystyrene on and ensure that the bricks are painted and dried before they go on the flats.