Scenic, Lighting, and Costume Design by Leigh Henderson

San José City College Theatre Arts (San José, CA), April 2016

Adapted for the stage by Tim Kelly

from the story by Nikolai Gogol

Directed by Leyla Modirzadeh

Adapted from the classic tale by Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat follows the clerk Akaky Akakyevich as he first gains and then loses a fine new overcoat.

This production took a whimsical approach to a story fraught with isolation and despair, using broad characters, physical comedy, and gimmicky props to appeal to young audiences.

In addition to the dramatic translucent paper coat backdrop, the set featured deep pits on either side of the apron from which unexpected props leapt up and down. Actors wearing box fans and throwing fake snow were used to create blizzards, while stiff cardboard coats inspired by Constructivism generated stylized movements.

The Person of Consequence, the play’s symbol of callous and intractable bureaucracy, is portrayed as a huge pair of pants, his importance and self-regard conveyed through his sheer mass and bearing. The pants motif is carried through the scenery as well, with rows of pants arrayed along the edges of the stage and along the aisles of the house, creating a suffocating army of bureaucrats with minimal effort and expense within the limitations of the San José City College Theatre Arts department.