Nicole Bearden: What drew you in to Mary Jane after being approached to design the set? How fluid was the process from set design conception to execution, and how did it change as the process went on?

Julia Hayes Welch: This was a tough and personal play for me. In 2019, my cousin’s four-year-old son was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer. They have navigated numerous intensive surgeries, chemo, radiation therapy, changing medication, stem cell transplants, allergic reactions, long hospitals stays, epilepsy, and, unfortunately, blindness as a result of these treatments. It has been beyond brutal. As I read Mary Jane I was struck by its authenticity, having heard my cousin say nearly the same things. I wanted to do justice to her world, one of childhood illness paired with relentless optimism. I wanted to get it right.

The play requires realism and I spend a lot of time looking at hospital spaces and apartment interiors that felt in line with the script. My cousin read the script and helped me craft some of the details that bring nuance to the set, such as the cardboard boxes from medical supply delivery, white board with doctor’s phone numbers, and sharps' disposal container. 

The designing of the spaces themselves was fairly straightforward, but the trick came in how the set moves from one location to the other (as well as one surprise moment that I won’t spoil). Luckily, the folks at Seattle Rep are wonderfully creative, and through collaborative meetings we were able to solve our technical challenges. The research and development that is done ahead of building a set is vital, getting the creative team the information needed to make design decisions.

^{Julia Hayes Welch at the Mary Jane Meet & Greet (2026). Photo by Sayed Alamy.} 

With a realistic play set in a contemporary time, we have the opportunity to shop for most of our furniture and props instead of building them, leaving room to be inspired along the way. For example, rather than building an entire set of kitchen cabinets, we were able to find a used set that works perfectly for our space. It was a different color than I originally imagined and, while we could have painted it, I decided to alter the overall color palette to use the cabinets “as is.”

At the end of the day, what I hope is that these spaces help us connect with the nuances of Mary Jane’s journey. And that I am doing my best to highlight the often invisible work that is done by caretakers like my cousin.

NB: You have been quoted as saying that set design “can hold a metaphor or poetic gesture that you can’t get as readily from film or TV” (Seattle Magazine). How has that philosophy informed your design on Mary Jane?

JHW: Some plays can function in abstract or highly stylized settings. Other texts require detailed realism in order to have clear storytelling. Mary Jane is the latter. While we do need two very real, contemporary spaces, the choices of color, texture, shape, and volume create an intense mood. In this case, the warm apartment environment seems even more inviting once we leave and go into the sterile hospital world. There is also a subtle difference in how “real” the apartment is versus the hospital. The spacial layout in the hospital doesn’t follow a realistic blueprint, partially due to how the play is written and partially due to the needs of our space, the Leo K. Theater. That choice paves the way for a moment of great beauty and great abstraction at the end of the play.

There is also an important gesture in how we shift between the apartment and the hospital. We have chosen to have the world literally open around Mary Jane, where she is the stationary object amidst the chaos. It tells a very different story than if we chose to have a curtain come down or black out to cover the scene transition. Instead, Mary Jane does not get to rest, she is just pushed from one world to the next and has to hold herself together.

NB: Mary Jane takes place in two physical settings. What challenges or successes have you experienced in designing for both settings to fully immerse the audience?

JHW: There are a number of challenges in creating two physical settings for this play. Due to the required level of realism, we know we are going to need a massive shift between locations. Bringing in a painted backdrop isn’t going to cut it. Which leads me to challenge number two, the limitations of our physical space in the Leo K. There is no fly system (a system of ropes, counterweights, and pulleys designed to quickly, safely, and quietly lift and lower scenery), and there is limited space overhead, backstage, and in the trap room under the stage floor. So how do we move an entire realistic set and where do we put it?  And from where does the second set appear? It’s quite the puzzle. The third limitation is resources. As the cost of materials and labor goes up and funding for the arts takes another gigantic hit, budgets become smaller and we need to be extra creative to do more with less.

That said, limitations are one of the most constructive design tools. They force you to focus on what is most important in order to tell your story. We nixed turn tables and walls that automatically track off stage and a number of other options before adopting the idea of two pivoting sections that reveal and connect to a third section. We got here due to our constraints, but I think it’s an elegant solution that helps us keep Mary Jane relentless and at the center of our story. In fact, I think it’s a much better solution than our original ideas.

^{Set model for Mary Jane by Scenic Designer Julia Hayes Welch. Photo by Sayed Alamy.}

NB: What do you hope the audience takes away from the show and their experiences with your set design? 

JHW: I hope that this design creates emotional resonance that deepens our experience of the story. I hope that we recognize some of this world, and it causes us to really see all the caretakers in our communities. I hope that, like Mary Jane, we chose to fight with relentless optimism in the face of the unknown. I hope that we can find the stars and bring them to those in the dark.

As my cousin told me, “In the moment it is really hard to keep the hope and to keep your head up and keep getting through because you’re literally in survival mode." I hope that [our story] can get someone else through, inspire someone else to keep hoping and keep trying.

If you’re moved by this story and want to help, please consider donating blood. Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. Children and adults being treated for cancer, surgery patients, victims of accidents, and other ill people all rely on these donations. Locally, Seattle Children’s Hospital receives blood from Bloodwork’s Northwest. Visit bloodworksnw.org to donate.

Mary Jane plays March 19–April 19 in the Leo K. Theater.

Tickets »