Prozorov house
Chekhov gives little descriptions of the setting in his stage directions. He writes, "A drawing room with columns. A ballroom is visible in the background. Noon. It is sunny and cheerful outside." While the description is not particularly exhaustive, it gives the sense to a director or a reader that this is a grand house, complete with a ballroom and columns. It establishes that the Prozorovs are quite wealthy, or at least come from wealth.
The fire
Chekhov clearly describes the scene of the fire: “Through the open door comes the glare of a window red from fire." While we do not see the fire taking place in town—the Prozorov's house is spared—there are little signifiers that let us know it is taking place. Additionally, when Vershinin comes into the house, he is covered in soot, which shows that he has been helping to fight the fire.
The opening tableau
Chekhov does not make very specific notes about the visual world of the play, but the opening image of the play serves to set the scene. As the play opens, we see Olga in a blue girls' school uniform, Masha in black, and Irina in white. Before the characters have even opened their mouths, this tableau serves to illustrate something about each of them. Olga is the serious eldest sister who works at a school. Masha's black dress shows that she is more intellectual, discerning, and experiences darker emotions. Her black dress is a kind of mourning dress. Contrastingly, Irina is wearing white, which represents her purity, innocence, and impressionability.
Kulygin in the beard
Towards the end of the play, Kulygin puts on a fake beard as a joke. All the characters have been making fun of him for shaving his mustache, so he puts on the fake facial hair, and it gives Natasha a fright.
