DESIGN A PLAY FROM A DIRECTOR/PRODUCER PERSPECTIVE

Elf Jr. Book by: Thomas Meeham & Bob MartinMusic by: Matthew Sklar Lyrics by: Chad Beguein Directed by: Madison Vandeborne

Concept : Not Just a Musical

While this show is a musical, I am staging it as a dance show. Each song, while sung by the actors, will have different dancers behind them. These dances will be of varying age and classes. Thus this show will be done in conjunction with a dance studio. While I will not be choreographing the background dances, I have a say in their entrances and exits. Thus, the set design for certain scenes will leave the stage largely empty. The actors and their spacing will make up for the lack of sets. A large Christmas tree is also the ever present reminder of the moral of the musical; never lose your Christmas spirit.

Working with a Studio...

❄ We will work in conjunction with a studio called Ms. Lisa’s Dance. The studio will be responsible for the costuming, choreography and casting of the dancers. They will be given the list of the songs in the show, to delegate to classes as they choose. They will get recorded versions of the songs to practice to but will need multiple rehearsals between the orchestra, singers, actors and dancers to make sure everyone is on the same level.

Scene Breakdown

❄ Scene 1 - North Pole ❄ Scene 2 - New York Street ❄ Scene 3 - Walter Hobbs’ Office ❄ Scene 4 - Macy’s Department Store ❄ Scene 5 - The Hobbs’ Residence ❄ Scene 6 - Walter Hobbs’ Office ❄ Scene 7 - On a Park Bench ❄ Scene 8 - Walter Hobbs’ Office & Macy’s Department Store ❄ Scene 9 - Outside the Tavern on the Green ❄ Scene 10 - The Hobbs’ Residence ❄ Scene 11 - Walter Hobbs’ Office ❄ Scene 12 - Santa’s Crash Site & Central Park

Costuming and Characters

Costume Theme

Those who appreciate Christmas are dressed in reds and greens while those who do not are starkly contrasted in neutral colors, such as navy blue, grey and tans. There needs to be a distinct difference between the believers and non-believer when on stage. It is all set in present day, so current fashion trends apply.

Buddy the Elf

Buddy could be played by a male or female character but the actor must have extremely high energy and will dance with the background dancers during some numbers. His costume will be a tunic and tight pants with leather boots. He will have a cap on his head and a striped scarf around his neck. He will not be a traditional “Buddy the Elf” but must look out of place among the other characters. He will be dressed the same in scenes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12. In scenes 6, 7, 8, & 9. Buddy will be dressed in a suit that is clearly printed as christmas attire. The suits are meant to be gag costumes, but Buddy enjoys the mix of human and elf in the suit. He has to wear “real human clothes” but he should retain his colors and his being of an elf. The costume should look off fromnormal business attire.

Santa Claus

Santa will be played by an older man, who has a booming voice and is able to be jolly, but annoyed at the same time. His costume will be elaborate and long, far from the traditional “Santa” costume. His coat will be burgundy and white fur and have gold trim around the border. His beard and hair should look as real as possible as he will not wear a hat (Scene 1 & 12).

Elves

Scene 1- There are five non named elves with speaking parts, Charlie and Shawanda. There are also background elves that will song, dance, and build toys during the first scene. The costumes will all be in a 50’s style bell dress and all in the color scheme. No elves are to wear hats. Decorations such as flowers or bows are acceptable. All shoes must be black and flat. Modest is best with shorts being under dresses and no collar bones showing.

Color Scheme

Deb

Deb is very fashionable but a little ditsy. She is Walter’s receptionist. She is very conservative, with her dresses being long and with sleeves but that do not have to be tunic dresses, they can be somewhat form fitting. They need to all be in either christmas or neutral colors. She needs three options for scenes 3, 6, 7 & 8. Scenes 7 & 8 will have the same costume. Hair will be worn down and closed toes shoes, preferably ballet flats, because of set moving.

Walter Hobbs

Walter Hobbs is an older man, in his mid to late fifties, but is very fashion forward because of his wife. In all of his scenes, he wears well fitting suits in either black or blue. His ties must match both his suit and the vest or collared shirt under it. No Christmas ties or the color red. He is firmly opposed to Christmas anything. In scenes 5 and 12, he will wear a tan trench coat over his suit with a plaid scarf over the top. He will also be carrying a briefcase in these scenes. He will need three different costumes, but the suit can remain the same is the ties and vest change.

Emily Hobbs

Emily is the wife of Walter and is in her mid 40’s. She is very mild mannered, soft spoken and protective of her family. She is very fashionable and wears tight pants, booties and large sweaters (Scenes 3, 5 & 10). The sweaters are all in either muted prints or neutral colors. She carries a very large, expensive bag. She has two costumes, both remaining the same style, with different colors or sweaters. In scenes 3, 11 and 12, she needs to be wearing a coat, gloves and a hat to convey that she is either outside or coming in from outside.

Michael Hobbs

Michael Hobbs, son of Walter and Emily, is a thirteen year old self proclaimed skater boy who is obsessed with how he looks and his phone. He always wears a beanie, inside and out. He wears layers of jackets, instead of a winter coat. He wears skinny jeans, layers of flannel, hoodies, sweaters and jean jackets. He wears flat skater shoes, like Vans and doesn't “feel cold” so he never wears gloves or a scarf. He needs two costumes for scenes 3, 10 and 12. However, the layers can just be swapped for a costume change.

Jovie

Jovi is the main love interest of Buddy in the play and despises Christmas. She is modest and does not like cold, so she is always bundled up.

Jovi needs four different outfits.

❄ Elf Outfit (Scene 4) a. Simple Red and green 1950’s style dress

with tights and ballet flats. A wreath in her hair or a flower.

❄ Date Outfit #1 (Scene 7) a. Jeans and a long brown coat and

sweater. Ear Muffs and booties with exposed socks. Outdoor date and needs to be dressed very warmly but presentable and in no way reflects christmas in her outfits.

❄ Date Outfit #2 (Scene 9 & 12) a. Long red coat and black dress

underneath. Heels and very nice hair. This is a date to a five star restaurant and she needs to be dressed semi-formal.

Security Guards and Policemen

❄ Security Guard (Scene 3) - Coat that Says Security, black pants, and a badge.

❄ Police Officers (Scene 5) - Traditional Blue Pants and shirt & Badge and Heavy Blue jacket.

Sales Woman and Manager

❄ Saleswoman (Scene 4) - Plain Black cap-sleeve dress, flat shoes, sheer back hose and flat shoes. A Christmas apron should be over the dress.

❄ Manager (Scene 4 and 8) could be a male or female, but needs to be dressed in all black with a Christmas sweater or vest. Has a badge clipped to pants or on a lanyard. They are very loud and wants his/her store run his way or no way.

Sarah, Sam, Chadwick and Matthews

❄ All of these characters have very small roles and only appear once or twice.

❄ Sarah - Dark Purple Dress and Heels ❄ Sam - Black suit and red tie ❄ Chadwick

○ Black wrinkled suit because he is not a person who is very tidy nor well maintained.

❄ Matthews ○ Grey well fitted suit with black

shoes and a green striped tie.

Mr. / Mrs. Greenway

Greenway is a very important person who has a lot of money. They are very business savvy but do not condone frivolity. They will wear two different suits or suit skirts of black, blue, or printed with one small accessory of a scarf or tie (Scene 6 & 11). The shoes need to look expensive and the hair will be slicked back for a man or in a low, strict bun if a woman.

Charlotte Denton

Charlotte Denton only appears in scene 12. She is a news reporter who is covering the scene of Santa’s crash. She wears a long back jacket, jeans and matching christmas scarf and hat. She needs to be holding a microphone and addresses the crowd when speaking.

Crowd in Central Park & Random New Yorkers

The random New Yorkers in Scene 2 all need to be similar or the same to the crowd in scene 12. One person needs to wear an apron and other needs to wear a jogging outfit. The crowd in the park, including Darlene Lambert and Emma Van Brocklin will wear a mixture of jeans and jackets. They will look like a typical crowd of people in the wintertime. All the colors of the costumes should be red, green, dark blue, tan, black or purple. All need to be dressed for very cold weather; hats, scarves, and gloves.

Fake Santa

Fake Santa will wear a very cheap costume from Amazon or Ebay and will wear a pillow under his shirt, with it even peaking out at times. He will also wear a raggedy sparse fake white beard and wig. His shoes should be ratty black tennis shoes. Fake Santa needs to look like a Santa that was brought in off the street. He is exactly opposite of the “real” Santa.

Theatre and Sets

Proscenium Theatre Jefferson High School

This high school is a medium size local school with a decent theatre. It is typically used for dance and band shows, but has a very deep and wide stage with excess wing space. The extended apron and upper backstage level are the reasons for choosing this theatre. There are numerous actors and dancers and this theatre has an abundance of backstage space for them. There is also a very large tech booth in which sound and lighting can be

done from. There is a decent size pit for the orchestra. However, there is a lack of working lights, so extra lighting will need to be rented and set. There is only one fly reel so there will only be a single scrim as the backdrop. There is a very large seating arrangement

with no upper level so sound travels evenly throughout the space.

All Around The Tree: Concept for Set Design

A very tall Christmas tree would be upstage center for the entirety of the show. The tree should be at least ten feet tall and will be decorated with old fashioned ornaments, like candy canes and popcorn, and new ornaments like bulbs and lights. It will have to be on a rotating platform, as the upstage side will be blank. This blank side will be used in scene 4. There will be no main backdrops except for a scrim and all scenes except the office, home and some outdoor scenes will revolve around the tree.

North Pole: Scenes 1 & 2

At the North Pole, there will be numerous wrapped presents around the main tree in large red and green bags. There will also be elves scattered around with boxes and buckets of toys.There will be a very large red chair downstage right on the apron where Santa Clause will sit.

At the Office: Scenes

With the Main Drape closed to hide the Christmas Tree, there will be two desks set up on the apron. Deb’s desk will be stage left while Walter’s will be just right of center stage. There will be a Christmas tablecloth on Deb’s desk along with children's books and pictures of her family. A small white laptop sits in the middle. Walter’s desk is covered in papers and binders with a large black laptop taking up most of it. Both will get standard desk chairs, while two arm chairs are placed just stage left of Walter’s desk.

At Macy’s: Scenes

The Macy’s scenes will all revolve around the set Christmas tree. The Christmas tree will have been rotated so the undecorated side is showing. There will be decorations and boxes surrounding it to be put on the tree during the scene. In the 4th scene, there will be a small table with a Christmas table cloth stage left with perfumes on it. In the 8th scene, the table does not need to be there. There will be other tables lining the background and they will be covered in toys and Christmas paraphernalia to make it look like a store. In the end of the 4th scene, an armchair will be set on the apron of stage right for Fake Santa’s entrance.

At the Hobb’s Residence: Scenes

The Hobbs residence has no Christmas decorations at all. There will be a solitary dining room table and chairs that will be placed on the downstage left part of the apron. The left wing will be used as a hallway and the entrances of Buddy and Walter. On the table, there is a Thanksgiving tablecloth, to show that the family is very behind on finding the holiday spirit and will have a tea pot and cups on the table. For the 5th scene, there will be a large wind turbine that takes up most of the table.

Outside: Scenes 2, 7, 9, & 12

❄ NY Street (Scene 2) ○ Scene 2 - On the Apron of the stage, Buddy is talking to man selling coffee on stage

right, and people milling about the stages. Points into audience when asking about the Empire State Building.

❄ Date Scenes (Scenes 7 & 9) ○ Scene 7- A Bench is placed on the apron of the stage on stage right with the curtains

drawn behind it. ○ Scene 9 - Sign with Tavern on the Green stage left with curtains drawn.

❄ Santa’s Crash (Scene 12) ○ On the Apron of the Stage, in the center. No props or backdrop. Curtain is down. Santa

points off stage right to express that the sleigh would be. ❄ Central Park (Scene 12)

○ In the center of the stage, in front of the Christmas tree. Some planted fake trees will be brought out in a line against the scrim beside the tree to simulate being in the park.

Scene 2 Scene 7

Scene 9 Scene 12

Scene 12

Because of the Dancing...

Numerous scenes happen on the apron of the stage with the curtain drawn. This is to allow for the young dancers to have the opportunity to find their places on stage so that they are ready to dance when it is their time in the show.

Props Needed

❄ Santa’s Story Book (Scene 1) ❄ Clip Boards (Scene 1) ❄ Edible Perfume in fancy bottle (Scene 4) ❄ Wind Turbine (Scene 5) ❄ Paper and Pens for list writing (Scene 5) ❄ Shredded Paper to simulate snow (Scene 6 & 8) ❄ Souvlaki on a Stick (Scene 7) ❄ Chris Smith Manuscript (Scene 8) ❄ Snow Globe (Scene 9) ❄ Note from Buddy (Scene 10) ❄ IPad (Scene 12)

Sound and Lighting

Lighting

❄ North Pole (Scene 1) - The lighting will be very cold, with a blue and white cyc/scrim lights. The toplights will be cool and the front lights will be very bright as there is numerous people on the stage.

❄ Outdoor Scenes in front of Curtain (Scene 2, 7, 9 and half of 12) The toplights will be cool but there will less frontlight. There may need to be spotlights following some actors while they are on the apron to highlight them.

❄ Office (Scenes 3, 6, 8 and 11)- While these scenes do take place in front of the curtain, they need a very clinical light. There will be a lot of toplight, similar to fluorescent lighting with some front light to not have shadows on the faces of the actors.

❄ Macy’s Department Store (Scenes 4 and 8) - warm top and front light with the scrim lights being a nice green color to highlight the Christmas tree.

❄ Hobbs’ Residence (Scenes 5 and 10) - the top and front light will be warm and about 75% power. Light enough to see the characters without it being overwhelming. The curtain is drawn so there will be no cyc or scrim lights.

Sound

There will need to be either a good recording of the music or an orchestra will need to be hired to play all of the musical numbers in the play. A local orchestra, such as the Straz Orchestra or the Florida Orchestra would be where we would hire members to create a small, but powerful and fulfilling orchestra.

❄ Very Limited recorded sound.

❄ Light Christmas music in the Macy’s scenes.

❄ A doorbell sound for Scene 5.

A Few Extras...

❄ No Intermission ○ Under 2 Hour Run Time

❄ Mainly Young Actors ❄ Some Actors may Dance ❄ Stagehands and Dressers Needed ❄ Wigs are not necessary except for Santa

Clause ❄ In the end, every character will sing “Santa

Claus is coming to Town” without the use of the orchestra to bring down the curtain.

In Conclusion...

This show will be very different from a typical musical because of the dances incorporated into it. The sets will be limited and the costumes will all for the characters without being too “traditional”. This one show performance is a way to integrate acting and dance together to create an entertaining evening and send a little Christmas Spirit to all those who attend.