Not everyone has the job of complicating things for their colleagues, but that’s exactly the task for Opera på Skäret’s set designer Sven Östberg. And over the years, he’s created quite a few obstacles. This year marks his twentieth production at Skäret.
By now, Sven Östberg knows the opera house at Skäret well. This enormous timber warehouse standing proudly by the shores of Lake Ljusnaren, transformed into an opera house. It doesn’t resemble traditional opera houses, and perhaps that’s exactly why Sven keeps coming back.
– The opera house is just one big empty room. As long as you stick to the laws of physics, you can fill it with absolutely anything. In a traditional theatre, the stage is framed and becomes a room of its own. The theatre space is split into two separate rooms. But that’s not the case here at Skäret, and when everyone is in the same room, the feeling of distance is reduced. It’s easier to draw people into what’s happening.
It certainly sounds fantastic to have an empty space to fill as a set designer, especially one with such grand volume.
– The room is so magnificent that I believe it, in itself, signals to the audience that something truly special is about to happen.
Psychological and functional perspective
According to Sven, a set designer needs both a psychological perspective and a functional one.
– My task is to create environments that support the psychological dynamics unfolding between the characters. The environment must be able to move the drama forward, in the direction it’s meant to go.
Stairs for example is an excellent tool for this. Levels offer good opportunities for movement patterns that can convey a lot about a person. When a character descends a staircase, the body language naturally opens up, making the character large and visible.
– You can spend a lot of time just on stairs. In this year’s production of Turandot, there will be one or two staircases. At Skäret, there’s currently an ongoing discussion about the width of the steps. Should the staircase be good to stand on or to pause on?
And then there’s that thing about making things difficult for one’s colleagues. Creating obstacles is a tool that can be very useful for driving the story forward. It doesn’t have to be big; it could be a cushion lying on the floor. Does the character step over it, pick it up, trip over it, or go around it?The approach says something about the character and contributes to the overall picture.
– But sometimes, of course, you as a set designer just want to keep a set design because it’s beautiful. Then it’s good to have a bit of distance from your own artistry to make things work.