The primary locations in the play are on the English coast and in the government offices at Whitehall, and the play switches frequently between the two.

Water's script also calls for a series of television newscasts, which add to the cinematic structure of the play.

This required a flexible space that could represent multiple locations (sometimes multiple locations at the same time). The finished design had three, primary scenic elements that allowed for numerous locations, with the ability to quickly change from scene to scene. The first, was a compound-raked platform with exposed joists, aged to look like a boardwalk or pier. The second was an oppositely counter-raked pipe grid, adding both a metalic, contemporary material, and with the counter-rake, a sense of claustrophobia as the grid lowered as it moved upstage. The third element was comprised of two steel-framed walls with transluscent Coroplast panels. This allowed for projection surfaces from the front with the ability to light through the walls from behind. The lighting designer Jeff Fightmaster and I discussed lighting through the panels from behind to create a contemporary government "bunker," which was achieved through compact flourescent lights centered behind each panel.

The projections required by the script were primarily BBC news broadcasts, and the divided Coroplast panels allowed for the walls to be divided up into multiple "televisions" or to be used as a single, whole projection surface. For the BBC broadcasts, the walls were divided, but the entire surface was utilized with "background" imagery whenever the play returned to the coast.

Flanagan Theatre is a 40' x 40', multi-form black box theatre. For Contingency Plan we created a diamond thrust, with audience along two sides of the stage.

To access production photographs, click the link below.

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Continceny Plan Production Photographs