WHEN the average theatregoer watches a play, their interest is most captured by the actors' performances; the intricacies of the plot.

But what of the set? How it's designed and constructed plays a large part in creating the desired ambience and yet those responsible for its production generally receive little audience credit.

So believes Julie Hastings-Smith. As head of set design, she's part of a mammoth team working behind-the-scenes to present the Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society's upcoming production, .

"We are overlooked sometimes by members of the audience," she said. "They see the actors onstage and they're aware that they've spent a lot of time rehearsing and put a lot of energy into it. But what they don't see are all these people who actually make this happen.

"I'm here as set designer. Henry Godfrey heads set construction. He's had, maybe six people helping him.

"The set painter has a team of maybe six people. With lighting ? there are the people who sit in the box and actually operate it; there are the people who go in the grid and physically move the lights. With sound there's usually two or three people. Once the show goes up, there's the backstage crew. There's wardrobe. There's costumes. So there's a lot of people. It's a big undertaking and the audience sees only a very small part of it."

opened last night at the Daylesford Theatre. According to Mrs. Hastings-Smith, it follows a series of misadventures in the life of an opera singer.

"It's a farce," she said. "It's all about mistaken identity. A famous opera singer is invited to sing at a gala event by the Chicago Opera Company.

"Because of some misunderstandings, he becomes incapacitated and they devise a way of putting on the show without him. Without giving away too much of the plot, what follows is a series of misidentifications and misinterpretations. It's very funny. Very fast.

"We have a cast of eight and two lead men. Tito, the opera singer, is played by Shawn Angiers. Max is the other main character, played by Matthew Nester. He actually stepped in at very short notice. The person who was playing that role ended up with a voice problem ? not because of us, I must say ? and he was advised that he couldn't continue in the role because there is some singing involved. It's not a musical but there is some singing. So Matthew stepped in a week ago. He has learned the part and is right into it. He's done an excellent job."

An artist in her own right ? works by Mrs. Hastings-Smith were until yesterday on exhibit at the Bermuda Society of Arts ? the set designer said her creative abilities were not called into play for this production.

"The actual input for the show? the set, costumes, lights ? is actually the concept of the director," she explained. "It's up to the designer of each department to put into physical flesh, if you like, what the director (wants). It's very much a collaborative event. We sit down together. Look at when the play's set, where it's set and what the actors have got to do.

"Once you've had that meeting with the director and have an idea where you're going, you go off and make your design and do some sketches. And then you come back and talk again and ask: 'Is this what you were looking for'?"

Once final adjustments made, an actual plan is drawn, after which the measurements are passed onto the set builders for construction, she added.

"In this particular play there are a lot of entrances and exits. So as far as the actual design is concerned, it was fairly restricting because it had to meet all these criteria. There wasn't much scope for doing something more abstract. It had to be very realistic. Because it's a farce and because it's set in the '30s, we've worked on a sort of art deco appearance set and the costumes are being similarly styled."

With only one set to be created, construction was completed in a couple of weeks, she added.

"Because of the schedule in the theatre now, with ongoing shows, we have a warehouse where we did some of the basic construction in advance."

l continues to run tonight through September 25 at the Daylesford Theatre, on the corner of Victoria and Dundonald Streets. The show begins 8 p.m. Tickets for the event have been sold out.