Curiosity summoned the Cat, to put it in Wonderland terms. Alice’s curious nature guides her through the madcap magic of Wonderland. Through rabbit holes, looking glasses, and miniature doors, she experiences a world so unlike our own. That’s easy to do in an ink-and-paper world, but what do you do in the real one? How do you bring Wonderland to a bookstore? How do you make magic come to life? There’s lots of tricks we employed to turn Red Rock Books into our vision of Lew Carroll’s magical and maddening kingdom. Let’s peek behind-the-scenes to learn more!

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER: The Making of Malice in Wonderland (Part 1)

Giant mushrooms. Larger-than-life flowers. Vanishing cats. Living playing cards. Oof. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll’s original 1865 masterwork, is stuffed with delicious imagery and fantasy characters, enough to inspire countless generations of artists. And the question is usually: How do I put my own spin on this classic tale? At MMP, it had a clear starting point: Make it an interactive mystery! But translating Wonderland from page to improvised bookstore stage, took a lot more imagination. From the first inklings of Malice in Wonderland back in 2019, we knew we wanted a kind of “storybook carnival,” this idea that book illustrations have come to life, that the world was still a book. We weren’t going to hide that. We wanted to celebrate the storybook itself–ink, paper, drawing, text. As if John Tenniel’s famous illustrations, now seen through a child’s eyes, had been pulled out in 3-D for guests to interact with. We also needed to be pragmatic. Red Rock Books, our wonderful venue, is a working bookstore.

So, our designs for Malice in Wonderland had to be sympathetic to the practical needs of the store. We couldn’t impede with the merchandise or the shopping experience during the day. Furniture and design elements could be moved for performances, but these would need to be carefully curated for the stage crew’s comfort. Anything installed would need to be artistically graphic (so the audience could easily read what was happening), lightweight, and removable. Set design requires a lot of planning, creativity, and the ability to understand how a space works. Our Set Designer, Daniel Stallings, who has had tons of experience designing for a variety of stages, first created digital mockups of his designs to help communicate his needs to the directing staff, the tech crew, and the venue itself. He employed several of the bookstore’s own decorations and furnishings, redressed for a perfect Wonderland aesthetic. Mostly, he wanted to capture Wonderland in broad, magical strokes with little surprises and secrets tucked all around the store to make kids excited to explore. He also wanted projects both casts and crews could get excited to create.

One idea he had was the creation of miniature, operable Wonderland doors. While absorbing all sorts of Wonderland media for research, the image of the corridor or room of doors kept sticking out. Alice encounters an array of locked doors. The only one she has a key to open is a tiny one behind a curtain. And there’s a curious “Drink Me” bottle waiting behind her…

Daniel pictured the bookstore covered in mysterious doors in bright colors. Some would open and you could peer into Wonderland when you looked inside. What a great way to make you, the audience, feel like Alice herself. It was also a great project for the budding artists in our Youth cast. Daniel had both casts and crews draw pictures for the Wonderland views and the doors themselves. Using some foam posterboard, index cards, crayons, markers, colored pencils, washi tape, brads, tape, glue, ribbon, elastic string, wooden beads, and elbow grease, these mini doors came to life adorably. They are scattered throughout the store right now, with paper keys enticing you to “Open Me.” Please do! When you open the door, a magical scene, drawn by a cast member, waits for you.

We know the doors were super successful when, after rehearsal one night, a younger sibling of an actor discovered them, opened it up, and proceeded to explore the ENTIRE store, so they could find and open every door like a scavenger hunt. It was exactly what we wanted. A sense of magic, mystery, and discovery! But doors aren’t the only thing we’re providing…

A major element in the set design was the use of pre-existing furniture and decorative elements in Red Rock Books. For instance, in the mainstage area for the show, there are a number of circular and semi-circular shelves. We didn’t want to affect the ability to buy products, but we noticed the open, clean edge of the shelving. Those round shelves would make effective crepe paper topiaries for the Queen of Hearts Courtyard where she would hold the trail against Alice. And thanks to Ann Rizzardini, there is a phenomenal wooden statue of a pig in the store that will make the most perfect judge’s bench. Especially with a cute baby bonnet (a reference to the original book) on its head. When else can you get the opportunity to use a pig statue in a play? And no courtyard for the Queen of Hearts is complete without roses. Especially white roses painted red.

During the show, guests will take a guided tour through our Wonderland to hear the testimonies of your favorite characters from Cheshire Cat to Mad Hatter to White Rabbit to Caterpillar. You’ll pass through a looking glass, follow footprints down a rabbit hole, shrink to three inches tall to travel through an enchanted garden, grow fifty feet tall, join a mad tea party, interact with giant chess pieces, and more.

Wonderland will not only come to life through scenery, but costumes, props, makeup, and hair will add a whimsical flourish to the show. Our costuming team–headed by designers Libby Mitchell and Murolo Patchin–brainstormed tons of ideas together. Our card guard uniforms were custom-designed and handmade. Krista Roberts, our Prop Master, crafted everything from clay tarts for tea to crowns for the queens. Journey Curran and Olivia Holm, Ruby Hand award-winning makeup designers, are going to paint extravagant, fanciful faces from rabbits, hares, and grinning cats. Think bright. Think colorful. Think fun.

Red Rock Books is already undergoing its transformation into Wonderland. Be sure to stop by to witness the magic unfold as we prep for Malice in Wonderland, opening this July. But what is Malice in Wonderland? How did the writers take Lewis Carroll’s influential story and adapt it into a Master Mystery production. We’re interviewing the playwrights of this charming play in our next behind-the-scenes post–Why Is a Raven Like a Writing Desk?: The Making of Malice in Wonderland (Part 2).

And don’t forget to get your tickets to the show! They are on sale right now at Red Rock Books in Ridgecrest, CA. We’ll see you at the performances!

–Master Mystery Productions