University of Wisconsin Stevens Point 

Junior

​

Olivia Bastien is a Theatre Design & Technology Major with an emphasis in Scenic Design. In the previous year she has had the pleasure to work as a Properties Master and Scenic Artist at Stevens Point and as an Assistant Scenic Designer at the American Blues Theatre. 

Othello is a Shakespearean tragedy that enters war very early on – but we are not given the battle we are promised to see against the Ottoman Empire. Instead we are given the mental warfare that Iago inflicts upon Othello, and the battles of interpersonal relationships on an isolated island of soldiers. Our set is a 16th century style map of Cyprus, worn and aged, an ever-present reminder that these characters sailed the Mediterranean to a battle that never started. The staircase taking center stage is an ambiguous feature - suggesting grand stairs to the home of a Venetian senator or a military fort in Cyprus - that allows for visual power relations, as well as distance between characters or isolation. The only furniture piece included in the set is the bed dressed in white sheets. It is an important piece for many reasons; the consummation of Othello and Desdemona’s marriage, the supposed infidelity, and Desdemona’s death. The final piece of this set is the visual depiction of Iago’s deception. When the four legs of the set are back lit we see the scenes of infidelity that consume Othello. It is a deception to the audience that illustrates how Othello’s world is taken over by the green-eyed monster – his jealousy.