Grisele Gonzalez

Penn State University 

3rd Year MFA 

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My name is Grisele Gonzalez-Ledezma, I just finished my second year of grad school and I am going into my third year at Penn State University. As an undergraduate, I attended the University of California, San Diego where I received a bachelors of science in Marine Biology. After, I worked as a prop intern and over hire at La Jolla Playhouse were I started to be involved in the Theatre.

My pick for a Shakespeare play is "Twelfth Night". I decided to do this show because it has captured my attention for a long time, but I've never had the opportunity to design it. During this process, I became very captivated for its free spirited comedy. Its style of comedy is very different from other Shakespeare plays, leading me to become more intrigued by it. I was inspired by the architectural structure of an Italian sea side home; which tend to be simple and created with a cement like material with semi circular arches around the properties.

I decided to create a space that has very fluid entrances and exits as well as a space where the actors can all converse freely, but still be able to approach downstage for soliloquies, 'separate' from the rest of the stage. We see people entering from the main building stationed at center upstage, Olivia and Orsino's houses at stage left and right are created using simple walls with entrances and exits. Olivia's house has two stories as her house is more chaotic with characters coming to her more often with messages, such as from Orsino declaring his love for her. I loved the idea that we see characters moving from the second floor to the first floor in many scenes, and I wanted the audience to see those transitions as well. As for the colors, I chose a light cream with notes of purple/violet to create a very poetic space that reflects the romantic comedy the play.