The setting should be integrated into the physical environment of the theatre so that it seems appropriate to the performance space. The audience seating creates sightlines that must be considered when determining available playing spaces for the actors. The scenic design is the first visual clue the audience has about the production it will see. The mise en scene creates certain expectations about the nature of the script, the overall mood of the piece, and the characters who will be seen onstage. In some ways realistic scenery is the easiest to design.
Every choice is rooted in creating an environment that is easily recognizable.
Visual research provides very definite choices for the designer. A unit set, by definition, cannot be realistic. A single environment must support a variety of given circumstances when a season is presented in repertory on a unit set. The design has to offer the flexibility that allows small choices to speak volumes. Throughout the year individual student and faculty designers will be manipulating the scenic primary space by introducing the flexible components that are a part of this unit set.