Dramaturgy Display
The dramaturgy display for the 2024 production featured 3 different sections with different focuses for the audience to interact with. Below you can see images of each section and their purposes for the production.
Section 1:
The Mental Health Table
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This part of the display was featured closest to the door the audience entered from. Considering the heavy topics and focus on mental health in this show, the production thought it necessary to include a table that tackles mental health in multiple ways.
The first part of this section was a simple chair and pillow with two stuffed animals on it with flower petals. To top it off, there was a quote on a notecard that helped give purpose to the setup. The quote is included in the pdf alongside the photo for your own viewing pleasure. There was significance to the stuffed animals propped up on the couch.
The reindeer stuffed animal belonged to the playwright and was one of her own, which she had throughout her childhood to adulthood. In fact, in the first scene of the script, Lily mentions this reindeer and the playwright allowed it to be used in the display for this purpose. The sheep is meant to represent the innocence of childhood and also belonged to the playwright, but was found in adulthood, allowing that difference in age, but purity and innocence to shine through.
The next part of this section was the actual table dedicated to mental health. In order to prompt some excitement to go towards this table. the dramaturgs decided to include an assortment of mental health-related stickers to choose from. On the table it reads "Take what resonates" and that is exactly what the intention was. Considering the realities this show tackles when it comes to mental health, it felt important to promote that there isn't any shame in dealing with mental illness. There's also a joy in being able to physically take something away from a show and have it placed on an object of your choosing. Stickers offer the luxury of being put on things for the pleasure of viewing and this allows it to be a choice to attempt to normalize mental health awareness.
Next to the stickers was a box with this quote attached that reads: "Things may never be like this again. That could be good news or bad news to you, but it’s true nonetheless. Everything is changing all the time. May as well lean into it." With the topic of mental health being the focus of the table, the dramaturgs made sure to be careful in giving cliche advice or remarks to those who may be struggling through their own mental health journeys.
This quote appeared to be the best fit for really encouraging people to trust the process and appreciate the moment they're taking in when they come to see the show. The show often mentions trusting that things can be good in life even when they seem doubtful, so this felt appropriate to display at the table. For a closer look at the quote, please click on the pdf above.
Another element of the mental health table that was the most desired was the resource brochures. Within these pamphlets were links to a multitude of mental health resources, some public and some local to the Harrisonburg community, home to James Madison University. There were also mental health resources included specific to JMU students.
A big phrase on the front of the pamphlets included the phrase, "There's nothing wrong with asking for health." This was one of the biggest takeaways mentally that the production team desired for this show considering the overall theme of the show is healing through life. Picking up one of these pamphlets opens that door to healing even if it's not used, it poses the idea that if you want to seek help, you can and have the resources to do so. To access these resources, please feel free to click on the pdf above.
The final aspect of this table was the prompt given for people to answer on a scrap piece of paper to then put into a basket. The question was "How do you take care of yourself?" This is of course a reference to the title of the play, but also a serious question that the play prompts to the audience numerous times without expecting an answer. This table allows those audience members intrigued by the question to share their answers.
Regardless of whether an audience member picks up on this prompt throughout the show, the question gave the audience members who visited an opportunity to reflect on their own lives. The subject matters in the play vary and there's a chance that someone will walk away not being able to relate to the experiences shared in the piece. That being said, as human beings, we all have this obligation to take care of ourselves for the sake of living our lives. We all go about this differently and that offers a moment of reflection for someone to write out on a piece of paper and leave in the theatre.
During the talkback (closing night of the production), audience members stated they appreciated the mental health table and the prompt that was given. Some admitted that the answer had come easily to them, while others stated that couldn't think of something right away and it made them question their life choices. Moments like this is what intrigued the production to pose this question to the audience and allow them to walk away with something even if it couldn't be directly from the play itself.
Section 2:
The Workshop Foam Board and QRcode
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This part of the display was featured in the very middle of the display. It particularly focuses on the production process since the workshop and more information about the script itself for audience members to engage with.
(Click on the right image for a closer look at the board)
The board contains images from the workshop in December 2023 and allows audiences to see some of the progression of the script since then. One of the main takeaways from the board is the white quoted sections which are words or statements said by those who saw the workshop. These are hoped to have given the audience a taste of what to expect from the story if they're walking in blind or even if they've seen the workshop and are curious about what to expect the next go around for the production.
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The board also lists some of the intentions going into the 2024 production that the team has been following and keeping as a throughline that the workshop process inspired.
Lastly, the workshop board included a QR code for the audience members to scan to access the dramaturgical site that was used for the 2024 production process. This allows for more information on the script and in-depth analysis of each character, as well as real-life resources to understand the work.
Section 3:
The Takeaway Table
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This part of the display was featured furthest from the entrance. This table was purely based on allowing the audience to take away whatever resonates with them. Some shows on occasion give out free items for the audience to interact with or take with them and this table was exactly that.
The main element featured at this table was bookmarks with various different quotes on them. Each quote was thought out and pulled from multiple forms of media such as poetry books, romance novels, plays, and more. All these quotes in some capacity relate back to the show's overall themes and subject matter so the audience can take a literal message with them once the show is over. Each bookmark was decorated and made by hand to ensure a personal touch to each one for the audience. A small calling card to the show featured various flowers on each bookmark that allowed each one to be it's own personal design.
A small touch on the back of each bookmark features different phrases such as "Take care of each other" or "Keep healing." Alongside, either of these quotes included the abbreviation HTTCOYF for the show's title and the year 2024 for the production.
All bookmarks were featured on both ends of the takeaway table on trays that were decorated with flowers to give an inviting energy. The tassels on each bookmark were also used to encourage this warm invitation to the table and showcase the different kinds of bookmarks to choose from at your own leisure.
The other element at this table was stickers that also included various quotes on them. These quotes offered a variety that couldn't be offered on the bookmarks and allowed audience members who didn't get a bookmark to be able to take something home.
Another lovely element about these items being stickers is that they allow the audience a choice to make. Often in this day and age, people put stickers on items they have such as water bottles, laptops, or phones. These items are often interacted with daily or at least seen often. Deciding what quote to grab and where to put it gives the underlying purpose to the audience, which is to carry a message with them through life. This play offers a lot of messages to take with you, but at the end of the performance, it is the audience's choice in what they decide to take with them.
The overall dress and design of the takeaway table were intended to hint at certain elements of the show or things to note about the text. For example, the lamp placed center on the table was dedicated to representing the light in dark times. Before the show when the audience enters, that lamp is turned on.
Once the show begins it is turned off, but this allows the actors onstage and the lighting to grab that spotlight, indicating light in our lives can come from different places if we allow it. The lamp was also turned on during intermission and after bows.
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Another element of the table was the small clock next to the lamp. This clock was a little hint to the jumping in time the play does in regard to Lily's life. There are a few time jumps and it felt important to address this in some aspect of the display with subtlety. A small note about the clock is that the clock itself is broken, implying it's stuck at the same time. This can be a subtle dedication to feeling stuck in a certain part of your life, this can be implied through the show as Lily feeling trapped in these memories of her past. Also, it was purposeful to put the time of the clock at 11:11 to hint at the story being hopeful in truth despite appearing hopeless at times. 11:11 is often implied as a time for wishing and ultimate connection to your own desires.
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The next element, as featured in the other sections, was a small quoted piece of paper on the center of the table. The quote reads "Your mind is yours alone. Do what it takes to make yourself comfy. Build a library in there, play some music. Make it your home — Your mind is yours alone. Do what it takes to make yourself comfy. Draw the blinds, and kick out unwelcome guests. Make it your home." For a closer look at the quote, you can click on the pdf above. The idea for this particular quote was intended to reflect the contents around the table but to round off the display in itself assuming it'd be one of the last things you interact with at the display considering how far from the entrance it was. It also implies that whatever you grab from the table is something you welcome, the quote, the ideas within it all, is something you carry with you for your own well-being.
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Lastly, the frames included on the table hint towards two different things in the script. The left frame, "Think happy thoughts", is intended to reference the character of Felicity and her unwavering optimism and support for Lily. The other frame on the other hand represents Lily and the giant lily itself, they in reality are one and the same. It's a subtle cue that the frames match implying Felicity and Lily are the same person, but this is of course not an easter egg the audience will understand until they've watched the show in its entirety.​
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Honorable Mentions:
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In the video at the very top of this page, you might notice the white flowers dangling from the balcony above. You might have also noticed the flower petals spread across the display and the assortments of white flowers and bouquets dispersed throughout. The color scheme was admittedly something intentionally set from the first concept day for the dramaturgical display. ​
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The color white can represent a lot of things, but in the context of this play, it represents this idea of innocence and purity, with the addition of rebirth. This is stated in the character description for Lily's character in the script. That being said, there was this appeal to submersing the audience in this viewpoint and experience of Lily considering this was her story we were following along. There is of course the upside of having the display look physically pleasing, but when stripped away, it at an essence is Lily leaving her mark on the display, welcoming the audience to sit down and listen to her healing journey.