SHEA O'NEIL

Barter Players

 Summer 2017

Directed by Barrett Guyton

Costumes Designed and Made by Shea O'Neil

Set Design by Holly Brewer

Lighting Design by Mackenzie Mulligan

 

Thankfully our director had decided to set this production in the 80s and left the world of Fantastica up for a collaborative discussion. I tried to hit home, in the real world of the show that Bastian lives in, a very realistically rooted version of the 80s. I wanted it to feel as authentic as I could make it on a $700 dollar budget. I experimented with the world of Fantastica quite a bit and, after many many trial and errors, landed on making the world a derivative of more than one culture and geographical influence. The world of Atreyu and his people, who reside in the grassy plains hunting purple buffalo, felt very akin to inspiration from various Native American cultures. While the world of the Childlike Empress and her empire took shape from various imagery and styles of the Orient. I always strive to create something new with each design I do (if the director is ok with an attempt at something different)  so Falkor and many of the creatures were drawn on from folkloric images and themes that I came across in various methods of research. I used Veraform (thermoplastic) and clay to mold all of the headpieces and some of the parts on the puppets i.e. Falkor, to tie all of these creatures, who would normally have nothing in common, into a cohesive and fantastical design.  ​