The Master Builder
Lanesboro, Minnesota
February, 2002
Lighting Design by Sarah Riley
Costume Design by Janis Martin
Directed by Maurice LaMee
ACT 1: Above, CAD rendering of scene.
Below, Solness examines the house plans.
ACT 2: Above, CAD rendering of the scene.
Below, Hilde enthralls Solness.
ACT 3: Above, CAD rendering of the scene.
Below, Solness engages Ragnar as he takes the wreath to be hung on the top of the tower.
Production
Notes:
Script:
This classic Ibsen play is a complexly symbolic play with emotions
churning deep beneath generally stoic characters. From early on I
was drawn to a research picture of a chair that can be seen through
several doorways. For me, this was such a lonely picture,
indicative of the Master Builder’s isolation and how his fears and
loneliness had been hidden deep within, behind many doors and
hallways. Halvard Solness, the preeminent architect, and his
wife, Aline, have come to a rather hauntingly empty marriage after
having lost their children following a house fire. Hilda Wangel,
a vibrant young woman comes to claim her “castle in the air” which she
claims Solness promised her when he kissed her years ago when she was
but a girl. Hilda’s energy exposes Solness’s emptiness and fear and
awakens his more passionate self. Despite being the most admired
architect, Solness fears the up and coming generation and especially
his young apprentice, Ragnar, whom he has kept from going off on his
own. It is a play filled with contradictions. Solness is
arrogant, but is struck with feelings of inferiority. Hilda is at
once innocent and alluring. Aline is both Solness’s life and life
draining. And it is in his freedom and feelings of invincibility
that Solness meets his death. The world of the play is deeply
rooted in this duplicity.
