Lighting Design
Crimes of the Heart
Dir. Chris McCoy
The Election
Dir. Chris McCoy
Design Statement:
Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley is the story of the three Magrath sisters who reunite at Old Grandaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. Each sister has endured her share of hardship and misery over the years. Past resentments bubble to the surface as the sisters are forced to deal with past relationships while coping with Babe's latest incident. Each sister is forced to face the consequences of the "crimes of the heart" she has committed.
This performance utilized extreme realism, focusing on making all of the design elements true to life. The lighting was meant to correlate with this concept, sculpted just above the trim on the doors, the cabinets, and the picture frames. However, in pointedly significant and emotionally escalated scenes, our scene disassociated from realism into isolated episodes to intensify the actor's emotive output and create visual intrigue.
Godspell
Dir. Chris McCoy
Stage Kiss
Dir. Natasha Lee Martin
Design Statement:
The Election by Don Zolidis tells the story of Mark Davenport's campaign for student body president. Davenport's first instinct is to coast to victory in an attempt to boost his own college application. However, after his nerdy opponent, Christy Martin, gets a makeover and an unlimited Super PAC budget, Mark must also adopt a professional presidential campaign in order to compete. This play parodies the hype of contemporary American politics and examines the ethical compromises politicians make to appeal to a wide mass of constituents.
This performance was meant to capture the farcical nature of America's political environment surrounding the 2016 presidential election, especially around mass media's influence among constituents. Therefore, the inspiration for the lighting was meant to look as though characters were always being recorded in a television studio, literally becoming molded within the media's image. In moments where characters genuinely presented their humanity, lighting softened to shed the harshness of scrutiny and to resemble hope in deceitful and dishonest times.
Design Statement:
Godspell by John-Michael Tebelak and music by Stephen Shwartz is an imaginitave musical retelling of parables from the Gospel of Matthew. In Act I, Jesus and the disciples endearingly form the community of Christ by joyfully recounting the parables. In Act II, we see humanity's bastardization of God's word and sense of morality, leading up to The Passion of Christ and humankind's celebratory return to God.
This production was ultimately about engaging with a community and demonstrating joy in the face of hardship. However, this particular production was also played for the Millennial generation and their infatuation with mania and saturation, ultimately holding up a mirror to young folks to ask, "How should we live?" As such, lighting and media worked together to make Godspell into a post-punk, technological wasteland that reflects the current frenzy regarding technology's place in these young people's lives. Act I is very colorful as to resemble hope in times of diminishing prospects while Act II takes on more of the social/technological distopia elements that inspired this production.