The Bear

Design Concept

Brian Friel’s “The Bear” finds itself in the summer of 1890’s Russia, where Elena Ivanova Popova grieves a philandering husband. Her grief is vindictive, which will be reflected in the severity of the costume. Her plaintive black bustle’s linen and velvet demonstrate her wealth, but a simple red wrap donned later in the production shows she’s not as bound by grief as she suggests. Elena’s austerity will be mirrored in her servant, Luka, whose butler uniform reflects an earlier, more traditional 19th Century style. Contrasting with these two will be Gregory Stepanovich Smirnov, a brute whose costume will imply a sense of the every-day. He is obligated to dress as social custom dictates, but his preoccupation with his debtors has left him in a less formal sack coat and other jumbled attire. This design explores the contrast between grief and passion, structure and chaos, formal and callous.

The Bear
by Anton Chekhov
translated by Brian Friel
Furman University Theatre Arts

Directed by Rhett Bryson
Scenic Design by Rhett Bryson
Lighting Design by Jamie Riedy
Sound Design by Rhett Bryson

Photos by Jeremy Fleming