THEATRE
LIVES OF THE SAINTS
Lives of the Saints is Seinfeld meets a seven act live action cartoon play. In the spirit of All in the Timing, the play is composed of seven unrelated acts in completely different time periods and locations, all tying into the important questions in life. Why are we here? Is there a God? Why can't I marry my washing machine?
The set is the point at which every world within the play meets. It is the magic box at the intersection of multiple realities and characters from each of those realities stumble into that box in their search for answers. All set pieces and characters emerge from the collage of doors to enter the playing space, turning the set into a constantly shifting puzzle box.
Directed by Gregory Lehane
Costumes by Madeline Mikkelson & Mary Lepiane
Lighting by Charles Dabezies
PLEASE TAKE CARE OF ME
Please Take Care of Me is based on the work of Japanese surrealist author Haruki Murakami. It is about the search for a sense of completeness in life, and the idea that the search itself can provide one with a sense of purpose.
The set is an adaptation of the Japanese Hanamichi stage which would change position to establish different locations within the story. The stage was also surrounded top to bottom with black thread, giving the stage a feeling of suspension in space and giving the actors a barrier to interact with.
Written and directed by Tegan McDuffie
Costumes by Erik Anderson
Lighting by Sarah Kael Gillam
THE PILLOWMAN - PAPER PROCESS
The Pillowman is about a writer, Katurian, who is imprisoned and interrogated by two detectives after a series of grisly child murders take place in their town, all of which suspiciously resemble Katurian's dark fairy tales. Several times in the play these stories are acted out onstage, leading to the discovery that Katurian's own brother has been acting out the stories all along. Katurian kills his brother out of mercy just before he is executed by the two detective. His only accomplishment is saving his stories from being burned.
THREEPENNY OPERA - PAPER PROCESS
The Threepenny Opera is about the notorious criminal Mack the Knife and his fiance Polly Peachum. Mack and Polly are to be wed on the same day as the Queen's coronation, but Polly's parents will stop at nothing to see Mack behind bars and their daughter safe.
Threepenny has a grotesque irreverence about it. Corruption extends infects the poor, the rich, the starving, and the powerful and creates a hierarchy wherever it surfaces. The homeless have established a beggar's union, the thieves are having a wedding feast, the whores are reading and making pottery, and the cops are helping Mack get away with his crimes.
The set embraces the existing structure of the theater but highlights it with politically charged street art and peeling concert posters. The world of the play is a run down theater that a lo-fi rock band is performing in for the night. There are groupies and roadies all over the place and the action of the play is constantly supported and underscored by the band. The ongoing theme for this production is subverting the audience's expectations of the action.