If you get a chance to see “Rabbit Hole” at the St. Lawrence Arts & Community Center in Portland when it opens later this week, pay attention to the set.

Designer Craig Robinson has created four aspects of the home of Becca and Howie, an upper-middle class couple from suburban New York whose lives have been ripped apart by the death of their 4-year-old son.

Much of the action of the play occurs in the kitchen and living room, which are the most prominent features of the set. Tucked away in the back is the boy’s bedroom, left mostly unchanged since his death. Off to the side of the stage is the entryway of the house, represented by a solid front door and shingled exterior.

Suspended from the ceiling above the room is the home’s exterior fascia, fractured in parts to represent a home broken apart by tragedy.

Robinson has made brilliant use of his space, and done an effective job creating four distinct settings within one set.

“Rabbit Hole” is a deeply personal and emotional play, telling the story of Becca and Howie and how they cope with their loss and, ultimately, survive their tragedy.

To make the play as meaningful as possible, director Brian P. Allen encouraged cast members to bring items of personal significance to populate the set. Denise Poirier, who plays Becca, hung a still life painting of fruit in the kitchen, painted by her brother.

Kathleen Kimball, who plays Izzy, Becca’s sister, hung pictures from her kids’ bedrooms in the child’s room. And Allen hung art from his own home in Scarborough in the living room of the set.

The rocking chair in the bedroom is from Allen’s grandmother.

“I always try to find something like that,” said Allen. “I’m a sentimental guy. I was very close to my grandmother. When she died, my sister and I both got some of her things, and it means a lot to be able to use them in the shows.”

The show opens on Thursday.

Speaking of exceptional set design, Portland Stage Company’s Anita Stewart is exporting her talents to New York. She has designed the set for the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s production of Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame.”

It’s very impressive that Stewart is designing for BAM, though it’s not the first time she has taken her talents elsewhere. A few years ago, she designed for the Guthrie in Minneapolis.

BAM, which dates to 1861, brings international performing arts and film to Brooklyn. It has a 2,200-seat theater and a smaller concert hall.

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