This scenic design walkthrough features my 2021 production of Lysistrata at the University of Texas at El Paso, directed by Jay Stratton. Modeled in Vectorworks and rendered in Twinmotion, the design transformed the Fox Fine Arts courtyard into a responsive, immersive outdoor theatre—presented as the first live performance on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge was to reimagine classical performance within a contemporary public health context. Drawing from ancient Greek aesthetics and protest iconography, I designed a flexible environment rooted in ritual, resilience, and rebirth. The courtyard’s Brutalist architecture served as a sculptural frame, while the playing spaces layered ground-level action with balcony-height movement, creating dynamic vertical compositions.

Scenic elements included symbolic sculptures, custom-printed banners, and modular risers that defined a performance arena while remaining visually porous. I designed socially distanced audience pods—ranging from shielded dome seating to spaced plaza arrangements—to maintain intimacy without compromising safety. These zones were mapped out and visualized through animated walkthroughs, allowing for pre-show flow studies and visibility tests.

The scenic strategy was both conceptual and technical: how to invite a shared theatrical experience while addressing physical separation. Renderings played a central role in communicating not just form and material, but function—where spectators would sit, how actors would move, and how safety and symbolism could coexist in a single spatial narrative.

This project became a case study in adaptive design—how performance spaces can honor classical text while speaking urgently to the moment. The video combines renderings, movement studies, and documentation to convey how this ancient comedy became a live, contemporary act of communal gathering.

Scenic Design by Brandon PT Davis
Modeled in Vectorworks | Rendered in Twinmotion