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TROILUS & CRESSIDA
BING THEATRE
DIRECTION Natsuko Ohama and Edgar Landa
SCENIC Kiera Reinhard and Lukas Garberg
LIGHTING Ben Willams
PROJECTIONS Jackson Doran and Joe Shea
COSTUMES Ellie Herman
SOUND Noel Nichols
PHOTOS Craig Schwartz and Kiera Reinhard
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
CONCEPT
The University of Southern California’s production of "Troilus & Cressida" reimagined Shakespeare’s tale of love, betrayal, and war in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. The creative vision cast the Greeks and Trojans as UCLA Bruins and USC Trojans, respectively, transforming the ancient conflict into a modern rivalry. Set amidst the chaos of a dystopian cityscape, the play follows the doomed romance of Troilus and Cressida, whose love is tested when she is traded to the Greek camp as part of a prisoner exchange.
The set was comprised of a 16'x8' pivoting shipping container that served as the Trojan's base camp, an 8'x9' rolling unit and multiple torn up pieces of fabric that served both as projection surfaces and as the Greek's tent. Smaller elements included a trap door center stage and a scoreboard downstage of the apron with a list of all the character's and which side of the Trojan War they were on.
SHIPPING CONTAINER
The shipping container unit is engineered to rotate smoothly on a pivot point located at the most upstage and offstage corner. There are a total of 36 straight casters that are aligned to this pivot point, with two wheels located under each leg to account for the extra weight bearing.
The unit required a 10’x8’ span with no supporting legs, and thus was constructed with 2x6 supports with joist hangers spaced on 19.2” centers. The side panels are made from 3/4” plywood and box gutters, serving as both decorative accents and essential cross bracing for the unit.
The cargo doors mirror the design of the side panels but with the added functionality that one door opens, while the other remains fixed to provide cross bracing for the structure. These doors are built as hollywood flats, featuring outward-facing gutters for visual detail and conduit pipes as handles. Additionally, the corners of the container are enhanced with 1/2” plywood cutouts that add decorative detail and conceal the 2x4 compression legs.
ROAMING UNIT
The roaming piece is composed of two separate rolling units that can be used independently or combined: a 4’x8’ two-step unit and an 8’x9’ five-step unit. The larger unit features a 10-foot-tall wall constructed from corrugated polycarbonate panels, designed to resemble sheets of metal. These jagged, pieced-together panels enhance the rugged, post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the world. To ensure stability, the wall is reinforced with four metal jacks made from 1x1 box steel and conduit. For added safety and a polished finish, 1x2 trim is used to cover the raw edges of the polycarbonate panels.
SCOREBOARD & FABRIC
Additional design elements include a 5’x6’ scoreboard positioned askew downstage of the apron. The scoreboard features laser-cut letters and a Trojan helmet, both intentionally mounted at an angle to emphasize the apocalyptic aesthetic of the world.
All projection surfaces and tent fabric pieces were made from scrap muslin, adding a resourceful, rugged quality to the design. Additionally, muslin projection screens were rigged on both sides of the proscenium within the house.
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