Lighting Design by Chelsea R. Bannan

Directed by Mark Liermann

Costume Design by Alicia Risk

Sound Design by Ryan Williams

Scenic Design by Dave Nofsinger

WMU, Shaw Theatre

 

 

          My Concept for this production was to support the Director’s choice of a timeless feeling. I translated this into a dream-state or an environment that bordered on a dream-like world. I envisioned colors that would be associated with Mardi Gras and New Orleans, but would also pop the environment and the actors. This was my first time dealing with a cast where the majority was black and white actors were a minority. I learned a lot about skin tones and balancing front light during this process. Early on in the Design process, I suggested that the posters become transparencies to help blend the lighting design and scenic design together to make it a more cohesive vision. It was very interesting and an excellent learning experience to learn how to balance the light in front of and behind the semitransparent posters. I chose to divide my stage into two general sections, up-stage and down-stage. Up-stage was outside/ dirt road like and the down-stage was generally used for interior. The latter didn’t stay true through-out the whole play because at one point, the director chose to bring the outside scene closer to the audience and place it down-stage. Another choice that I made was to make the present warmer and involve less of the upstage world, and made the past cooler while bringing the sharp contrast of the upstage world to life.