Lysistrata
By: Aristophanes
Lysistrata, written by Aristophanes and performed at the University of Alaska Anchorage, was an interesting play to Design and Light. Although it was primarily an "outdoor" play with "Natural Sunlight", I found that there were multiple ways to play into the natural passage of time that the play required, since the story is meant to take place over the course of a single morning, afternoon, and evening. It presented a fascinating challenge as the opportunities for specials were scarce and the use of creative lighting was sparing. The core element of lighting Lysistrata was finding that “Natural Sunlight” look that moved with day, which I achieved by shifting the intensity of my front and side lighting from the “East” side of the stage at Dawn, to full stage at Noon, then the “West” side by Dusk. In addition to the colors shifting from warm ambers in the morning to violets in the evening, I built in multiple cues which gradually shift the entire stage look from the Dawn till Dusk, taking approximately 45 mins to complete. This greatly added to the feel and atmosphere of the world, as you watch the action play out and suddenly realize the stage has changed right underneath your nose.
Rain and Zoe Save the World
By: Crystal Skillman
Rain and Zoe Save the World, written by Crystal Skillman and world premiered at the University of Alaska Anchorage, was about the journey of two teenagers struggling to find a place to belong in a world that they feel has abandoned them. Traveling across country as their parents reach out to them, their story ends in the ultimate choice of how to live their lives, for the sake others or for their own. This play was interesting to light, as multiple character and scenes presented fun and fantastic challenges in how to portray and define their characters with my lighting. My favorite sequence to light was a simulated car crash, where Rain and Zoe are thrown from a motorcycle and framed by a set of fresnels at their feet. This scene provided a wonderful contrast to the other scenes while remaining simple and straightforward. Another incredibly fun challenge was recreating a scene where Souls fly up into the Starry Night Sky. To achieve this, I experimented with using tiny little battery powered lights on a fishing line for the Souls and dozens of hanging spinning washers for the Stars.
