Caroline in Photos

I recently went to a theatre class where the teacher lectured on the importance of purposful placement and selection of props. She explained ot ius that everything from the color of the couch to the label on the wine bottle that sits on the piano is important. Throughout the lecture, the professor spoke about the importance of only using props that are going to contribute to the performance by conveying either a symbol, understanding of the text or characters, or some deeper meaning within the play. She was a very big advocate of minimalism saying that with props, one must "use it or lose it". This made me think about the staging for Caroline or Change. I looked up some stage shots from the original production and noticed a few interesting things about the set. For example, in one scene, the room is fairly baren so the few objects that set the scene really stand out. The fan for example, might not be noticed regualarly as it is brown and fairly small, but being as it is on eof the few adornments on the stage, it is quite noticable to the audience. This made me think about why the director would have included the fan; was it to express the dismal heat that permeats the basement? The heat of the "purgatory" that the drier describes? Or is it meant to draw attention to the sweat that caroline sheds during labor? (as she stands in front of it attempting to cool down several times during the scene). I have attached a few more photos below; do any of the props strike you?
-Becca