Alexa Zhang
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PROJECT / SET DESIGN & BACKSTAGE
Little Women.A home built for a story.
How can a room feel modest and crowded, yet full of warmth? I approached the March family home through color, texture, furniture, and the quiet work behind the curtain.
MY ROLE
Set designer & crew member
THE CHALLENGE
Modest, crowded—and welcoming
MY CONTRIBUTION
Design, painting & backstage work
Little Women / the photographed school production.
THE DESIGN QUESTION
Warmth needsa little history.
My theater teacher saw my paintings in a gallery and invited me to design the set. Soft blues and warm oranges suggested comfort, but plain walls did not communicate a family of five sharing a modest home.
I proposed maroon floral wallpaper: a surface with weight and history, warm enough to hold the family’s closeness without making the room feel unwelcoming.
01 / EXPLORE THE ATMOSPHERE
Test the feeling before the finish.
These student-made digital studies explore color and atmosphere. They are shown separately from the actual built set.
01 / DIGITAL COLOR STUDY
Deep red, pale trim.
A color test painted over a photograph of the set.
02 / DIGITAL COLOR STUDY
Light walls, dark trim.
A different wall-and-window palette changes the mood.
03 / DIGITAL CONCEPT
An imagined March home.
A whole-stage concept, separate from the photographed production.
02 / CHOOSE THE MATERIAL
From a color to a character.
The actual set, a material sample, and the installed wall tell a different part of the process.
BEFORE / SET PREPARATION
The set before its final finishes.
MATERIAL / FLORAL WALLPAPER
The maroon floral sample I proposed.
ACTUAL SET / INSTALLED WALL
The selected texture installed on the set.
03 / PAINT THE EVERYDAY DETAILS
Jo’s little world.
A painted bookshelf helps a flat surface become part of the family’s life.
IN PROGRESS / paint and plates
ON STAGE / finished bookshelf
One quiet night,one painted shelf.
Working on Jo’s bookshelf in the dim theater, I became absorbed in the act of making. The room I was building for the story also became a place where I felt at ease.
Crew archive / notes and a view of the stage.
04 / DESIGN THAT PEOPLE CAN USE
The room has towork for the story.
I placed furniture where it would belong in a real home, so actors could use it instinctively. During performances, I helped operate the fog machine, make quick changes, and move furniture between scenes.
At the final bow, I stood away from the spotlight and felt proud: the space was carrying both a story and the people inside it.
Space tells the story, too.
