Secret Garden

When thinking of gardens and walled pretty gardens I also have a mental image of the film 'The Secret Garden' a classic film that most people are aware of. I know a small place in Dorset I frequently go to and visit the local subtropical gardens, which has a number a little secret gardens and has a beautiful set of gardens a lot like the garden in 'The Secret Garden' film.

Abbortsbury Subtropical Gardens, Abbortsbury, Dorset.

This specific shot from the gardens is of a gate way within the gardens I liked the idea of doors within the walls leading on to other areas of the gardens.

Something I could incorporate into my set as an entrance from the back on the set.

Research into Existing Gardens

Pembrokeshire, West Wales- Gardens of a hotel.

The open grounds is what I expect children to be running around in which is what I picked up from these images. the gardens are walled which is how I have imagined my set.

From the image above you can see the walled ledge, like a veranda which is a slight level above the garden. I like the idea of this and incorporating it into a design as it gives some height and breaks up the garden slightly.

In this image i liked the idea of the pilers with the cone shapes on the top a decorative feature but again ages something to break up the garden so its not just flat green grass. Something again i'd like to think of including.

V&A

Vistoria and Albert Museum- Theatre Department.

On a short documentary about some theatre shows they showed a scene of a garden, pebbled floors, grassy surroundings with stairs leading up within the grassy areas to give a sense of depth in the grass and enabling the actors to walk amongst it. This really gave me ideas of how to develop. I liked the idea of the steps leading up surrounded my the grass so it makes it appear you are walking among the grasses.

V&A

Victoria and Albert Museum- Theatre department.

Here I was looking at how there theatre set boxes were constructed and also at past set designs within the boxes and how they had been made.

I came across this set which gave me the idea of how to represent grass within my set design. Also with the use of layers it could be a useful way to set out the grass so that actors can move around the stage- moving behind layers of grass.

Garden Idea- Set Deign 1

I first drew how I imagined a plain garden, with trees and bushes, a back door on a bricked wall and used the props of a small tipi, child made with off pieces of fabric and a self made pen to be used as a prison.

I wanted the props to look as though the children had come up with them and made them and to be incorporated into the cowboys and indian theme.

New Idea

From looking at town houses and children's bedrooms idea, I came up with the idea of focusing the cowboys and indians outside as that is were cowboys and indians habitats and nature lie within the western lands- outdoors.

I wanted to develop from the idea of child's play of cowboys and indians as my final idea. So from the bedroom set I moved on to looking at gardens specifically walled gardens as I imagined town house gardens to be walled and quite large.

Set Design 1 for Childs Western

(Images to be put up)

Set Design 2- Western Through The Eyes of A Child.

As researched at the beginning I have looked at western being played and acted by children as if in a game of cowboys and indians.- Full of imagination.

My first ideas were to set it in a bedroom as seen in the stills of the production Peter Pan. I imagined the bedroom within the Town House. As seen in the pictures. I think the idea of them being set here gives the idea of wealth and the idea of the children having toys and the freedom and room to play games such as cowboys and indians within the house.