By Katherine Farmer

Faculty Mentor: Michael Benson

Abstract

The University of Mary Washington’s Department of Theatre and Dance produced Hand to God in the spring of 2026. As a part of that process, I assisted the Scene Designer for the production. I also was responsible for the design of the puppet theatres featured in the production. I started by reading and analyzing Robert Askins’ script to fully understand the world in which I was designing. My research was focused on the types of puppet theatres that have been utilized over time and the history of the different kinds of designs. Based on research and analysis of the text, I pulled significant inspiration from “Punch and Judy” and the theatres utilized by their performances. Throughout the entire process, I was a participant in design meetings, where I worked with other production departments to ensure that my designs would fit in the world of the play. The concept was to have two puppet theatres: one that existed in the world of the church basement and one that existed in another world where Tyrone thought he was performing. The theatre present in the church basement had to feel like it was designed and constructed by the characters. This allowed me to design it with found materials in mind. I thought that Margorie would go out and get a trifold and let her son Jason paint it. It had to feel handmade and imperfect. For the other theatre, it had to feel elegant and well put together. Tyrone thought he was speaking to humanity, so he needed a stage that represented the “ideal” of the theatre used in the scenes set in the church basement. This stage not only had to work as a flat that was flown in and out, but it also needed to have lighting and microphones rigged specifically to it. Ultimately, both puppet theatres had to be carefully designed to seamlessly integrate into the world of Hand to God.