Pre-Show Activity: Set Design

Warm Up:

1. Students read about set design
2. In pairs, students discuss different set design concepts from plays they may have seen before. The discussion is framed by the following: how does the set affect how audiences see the world of the play?
3. The pairs share aspects of their discussion with the whole class

Main Activity:

1. Have the students refer to the Plot Overview in order to create a set design
2. Students will be assigned a specific setting, so that they can incorporate that theme into their design sketch:

• The reading room in a library
• A kitchen
• A restaurant
• A bar

3. Have students share their design concepts and explain how they incorporated the theme into their sketch.

Discussion Questions

• Making Gay History: Before Stonewall will be performed in a small theatre. How might that impact the set?
• Where do you think the set designers might draw inspiration from when creating the set?
• The play takes place from 1988 - 1990. How would you use the set to enhance the time period?

After viewing the play, look back to the set designs created in this activity and ask students to compare their work to what they saw in the production. What was similar? What was different? Why might that be?

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