scenic design
The Bomb-itty of Errors
Butterfly Effect Theatre Co. | Taipei, ROC
Brook Hall, director
For this hip-hop adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Comedy of Errors, I designed a series of vinyl panels printed with vibrant street art. The imagery drew from pop culture parallels to motifs in the story.
Gaps between the panels provided multiple entrances / exits to support the high-speed fluid action on a shallow, wide stage.
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder
The Historic Cocoa Village Theater | Cocoa, FL
Anastasia Hawkins-Smith, director
Ian Cook, lighting
Dan Hill, costumes
Joseph Lark-Riley and Ian Cook, video
This design imagined the stage filled with a large curio cabinet in order to serve the presentational form of this material, set in Victorian England with contemporary sensibilities. Eight shelves displayed artifacts representing deceased characters, each one being illuminated when that particular character’s demise was reenacted. The large central opening of the cabinet served as the primary playing space for these reenactments, with appropriate scenic elements and video projections introduced throughout. Lower drawers could be pulled out, revealing additional scenic pieces.
The Secret Garden
The Historic Cocoa Village Theater | Cocoa, FL
Anastasia Hawkins-Smith, director
Ian Cook, lighting
Dan Hill, costumes
Joseph Lark-Riley, video
To portray the cold, broken environment of this story that is transformed by the vitality of youth and natural beauty, I designed a minimalistic set with brick columns framing a largely empty space interrupted by two simple stair units that intersected at the center of the stage and extended off into the wings. The stairs created a visual metaphor for the cracks in these characters’ worlds, and provided potential for dynamic staging. Front and rear-projections painted the space with dramatic, expressionistic compositions and physical foliage was introduced to enhance the climatic transformation in the narrative.
Glass Guignol
Mabou Mines | workshop @ Wesleyan University
Lee Breuer, director
Jesse Belsky, lighting
Elizabeth Groth, costumes
For his reexamination of Tennessee Williams’ “The Two Character Play”, Lee Breuer imagined a rotating stage that would give audiences multiple perspectives on the two principle characters as they prod and support each other through the performance of Williams’ oeuvre. For this workshop performance, I tweaked Breuer’s concept by designing a large mobile proscenium arch that could shift the “performance” and “non-performance” areas of the stage fluidly. A series of tattered drops could be raised and lowered, further enhancing the variable energies in the space.
A Dream Play
NAATCo | NYC
Andrew Pan, director
Sarah Lurie, lighting
Alice Tavener, costumes
For this production of August Strindberg’s surrealist tale about a deity’s exploration of the human world, I designed a set consisting of geometric objects that could be used in multiple ways throughout the performance. These objects were treated in neutral colors, serving as the base material that humans would use to shape the world to their needs. As the narrative progressed, subtle hints of color and vitality would peek through, revealing a natural and creative beauty hidden throughout.