The phobia that I am trying to express in my scenic design is Geliophobia – the fear of laughter.

I came up with 2 different possible rough designs for my scene setup.

1st Design:

Front Elevation perspective

Ground plan

People with Geliophobia are afraid of laughter. No matter what kind of laughter it is, people with Geliophobia perceive the laughter as a scoff or a mock. I tried to express this trait by using a creepy smile on the face in the back and using 3D pointing fingers from the sides.

The colors used here also have purposes. The bright yellow indicates the bright smile that others have. Around the smiley face, there is a bright shade of dark red that represents the evilness that people with Geliophobia feel. As the light fades out, only black is present to show the great fear people are leftover with.

The last part to pay attention to is the “HAHA” patterns on the stage floor. On a black floor, the text “HAHA” is written in white. In this scene setup, while the sound systems may help to establish the fear of even hearing laughter, the written text further emphasizes how people with Geliophobia are not just afraid of seeing people laugh or smile, but also hearing people laugh.

2nd Design:

Front Elevation perspective

The main idea of this design is to express the pressure and burden people with Geliophobia experience when people see others laughing. The color red is used as a tool to highlight the sneers that the Geliphobic people identify. The big eyes and mouth are 3D to give more pressure by actually extruding the figure.