“Carousel” was my first production with the Yale Dramatic Association. While I acted in a number of shows in middle and high school, I worked exclusively on painting and set construction for “Carousel.” In my interview with set designer Roger Hanna, it was interesting to discover why Hanna opted to create a set of one circle jutting into another circle. I also spoke with light designer Stephen Quandt, who has taught seminars in the residential colleges and for the Theater Studies department.

Under the Dramat’s budget constraints, Director Richard Joyce created a minimalist vision that drives the audience’s imagination, highlighting the artifice of the theater with pantomimed actions and few props. The play jumps around in time and space, and Joyce tells the story through the memory of female lead Julie Jordan. With few realistic physical indicators onstage, the actors, lighting, costume and sound designers took on the challenge of creating a coherent space that the audience could understand and connect with.

“Carousel” will be performed at the University Theater on 222 York Street this Friday at 2 and 8 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m.