The Twin Jade Cicada
Touring production, Singapore, September 2015
Director: Sim Siew Tin
Set Designer: Aaron Yap
Lighting Designer: Aaron Yap
Produced by Sim Siew Tim Hokkien Opera Troupe
Unlike most productions whereby the design for the set started with finding the concept and feel of the show, this production went in the reverse direction, focusing on the possible technical challenges first: easy adaptable for different touring venues of varying stage sizes and technical capabilities, low design budget, and lack of professional stage crew to handle complex set pieces. With these key issues in mind, I came up with a system of double-sided panels and a big platform right in the middle of the performing space. These panels are painted with Chinese-styled scenery painting on one side, when placed side-by-side would create a suggestion of a panoramic countryside landscape, but when separated or masked out (by turning some of these panels around), they would evoke different mood and ambience for different scenes.