How Anne Mundell Crafts Chaos

By: Miriam Colvin 

In April 2025, the Maltz Jupiter Theatre unveiled its production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in The Island Theatre, marking the successful completion of the first season in its new “black box” Second Space. This powerful American drama thrived in the intimate setting of the less-than-198-seat space, thanks in no small part to the evocative scenic design by Anne Mundell.

Anne Mundell is a Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University, with a distinguished career spanning teaching, design, and collaboration. Beyond the classroom, Mundell served as Director of Growing Theater Outreach, pairing Carnegie Mellon student mentors with fifth-graders to create and produce plays. She was also a founding partner of The Roboceptionist project, an internationally recognized initiative exploring human-robot interaction. Her achievements include the 2007 Henry Hornbostle Teaching Award and participation in the Prague Quadrennialle, working with renowned scenographer Pamela Howard.

Edward Albee’s masterful play, deemed by many to be an American Classic, takes audiences through a wild night of increasingly uncomfortable “games” and conversations. While character dynamics may seem vaguely “normal” at first, this quickly shifts and marital bickering turns vicious over the span of a couple minutes. The set provides a similar juxtaposing effect, tying into the play’s themes of perception and illusion.

The design features/requires a 20th century home, owned by the college where George teaches and by extension, a nepotistic perk bestowed by Martha’s father, who is president of the college. From far away, Martha and George’s house looks quite ornate, but with one closer look, there are books askew, papers strewn about, and things oddly out of place amongst the clutter in every corner of the home. Mundell says the set reflects the transitional nature of the characters’ lives: furniture is a mix of old and new, the artwork ranges from Greco/Roman to mid-twentieth century, and the old shelves next to the faded wall paper house “trophies” of their careers including diplomas, books, and artifacts from travel. The decor itself doesn’t feel cohesive, and alludes to the fact that this seemingly happy couple may not be on the same page.

Mundell explains, “The architectural details are nice, but the chaos of the clutter is emblematic of George and Martha’s marriage, George’s failure as an academic, and Martha’s lack of interest in her expected role during that period, housewife.” She adds, “We see a lot of books reflecting George’s interests and many that came as part of the house. There is a lot of classical artwork, representing George’s work as a historian. Always the contrarian, Martha is represented by the contemporary artwork that we see.”

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? scenic rendering by Anne Mundell for Maltz Jupiter Theatre’s 2025 production.

For Mundell, the design process is rooted in character and emotional research, and not just in the 1960s period she was tasked to create. Her design travels beyond realism, as she imagined the metaphorical destruction and degradation of the world this couple lives in. By the end of the play, each of the characters’ truths are revealed, and audiences are able to see them as they truly are. “As we learn more about the characters and the fictions they invent, the world dissipates around the edges, both literally and figuratively,” she notes. “The bookshelves may ascend to the sky, but they are fractured and incomplete. The books are more symbols of books, and the shelves are more sparsely populated toward the outside edges.”

Ultimately, Mundell values plays with “a poetic envelope and enough depth to ‘explore’ rather than ‘decorate’,” and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? fits that perfectly. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration, praising director J Barry Lewis and Andrew Kato for fostering an environment of exploration and discovery. The result is a design that not only serves the story but also invites the audience to delve into the complex world that these characters live in. Mundell asserts, “I believe that when we do our job well, there is room for the audience’s imagination to explore the play with us, rather than having us tell them what to think and feel.”