The set design for Wintuk reflects the show's winter theme, but before even considering the idea of representing cold and snow on stage, set designer Patricia Ruel had to confront a problem of scale… literally. The dimensions of the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden - a 4,500-seat auditorium with a 20-ft ceiling above the 100-ft wide stage - imposed constraints that in the end offered some unexpected possibilities.

“As soon as I saw the space I realized I would have to make a design not just for the stage, but for the space in front of the frame,” says Ruel. “We removed the first row of seats and took over the boxes on both sides of the stage.” The result: a performance area that takes advantage of the full width of the room in a layout with a “wide-screen” aspect ratio that resembles CinemaScope.

• The set elements are integrated with the show's acrobatic equipment, giant marionettes (which Ruel co-designed), lighting, projections and costumes to form a cohesive, interconnected whole.
• The story of Wintuk takes place in two primary settings: The City and the Land of the North. It opens in the Alley, where clothes lines are festooned with 205 garments, to suggest the bustling life and activity of a tight-knit urban community. Inline skaters and cyclists speed along ramps that run the full 100-ft width of the stage and puppeteers concealed in hidden trenches operate giant lamp posts.
• In the second half of the show the action moves from the City to the mythical Land of the North, where a seemingly fragile lacy Frozen Forest has been cut out of an extremely tough white fabric used to make temporary winter car ports. The material reflects light and evokes the crackling cold of winter.
• Translucent curtains, snow banks and huge blocks of “ice” interact with the lighting to create a wintry set ting in which huge Ice Giants and Arctic birds can come to life. The designs on the white velvet stage curtains were etched into the fabric with acid.
• Projections are an integral element of the set and have been designed to be especially appealing to children by using a winter light palette predominantly made up of pinks and blues.

Ice and snow are recreated on stage through a seamless, subtle blend of materials, textures, colors and lighting that dazzle from close up and at the same time play to the entire auditorium - especially during the show's climactic snowstorm, which begins gently on stage and eventually swirls and grows to fill the whole theatre.