Production photograph for Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre; scenic design by Brandon PT Davis.

Barefoot in the Park

A compact New York walk-up whose scale, stairs, and thresholds turn Barefoot in the Park into a comedy of spatial pressure.

Year
2024
Project
Comedy
Location
Okoboji, IA
The walk-up layout for comic staging for Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
Scene emphasizing the apartment geometry in Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
Actors framed by the compact set for Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.

A compact New York walk-up became the pressure point for Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre. Scale, proximity, stairs, doors, and windows all shaped the scenic design's comic rhythm and emotional temperature.

Rather than over-rendering period detail, I prioritized playable geometry. The apartment needed to support quick entrances, reversals, intimacy, and friction while always remaining clear to the audience.

The design tracks the couple's movement from romantic idealism toward negotiated partnership. It works less as a neutral apartment and more as a pressure system, turning everyday domestic life into a precise comic engine.

Actors using the compact walk-up apartment for Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
Scene highlighting sightlines and furnishing relationships in Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
Comedy scene from Barefoot in the Park staged through the apartment’s compressed architecture at Okoboji Summer Theatre.

Creative team

Book By
Neil Simon
Director
Brett Olson
Scenic Designer
Brandon PT Davis
Costume Designer
Shannon King
Lighting Designer
Lennox Emery
Sound Designer
Kayla Slinger
Final production angle from Barefoot in the Park at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
Rendering for Barefoot in the Park testing the walk-up apartment layout at Okoboji Summer Theatre.
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Company

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American Idiot

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Parliament Square

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An Enemy of the People

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Production photograph for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Stephens College; scenic design by Brandon PT Davis.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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Production photograph for Boeing, Boeing at Stephens College; scenic design by Brandon PT Davis.

Boeing, Boeing

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The Bald Soprano

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Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

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The Man of La Mancha

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Dial “M” for Murder

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All My Sons

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Production photograph for Last Train to Nibroc at Okoboji Summer Theatre; scenic design by Brandon PT Davis.

Last Train to Nibroc

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Rich Girl

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Production photograph for Angel Street at Okoboji Summer Theatre; scenic design by Brandon PT Davis.

Angel Street

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