Lighting Designer Xavier Pierce on Finding Inspiration

To set the mood for Peter and the Starcatcher, lighting designer Xavier Pierce found inspiration from a variety of places, from his home in New York City and the work of artist Victor Eredel, to pictures and artwork such as the images we see below.

To begin designing for a play, Xavier reads the script and filters through the words, sifting through his "own emotional database of living." He does this in an effort to make emotional connections with the words, then creates lighting that coincides with those emotions. Xavier describes this picture as "starstuff." He says, it's "an organic/spiritual compound used to reinvent nature as the beholder sees it in the mind."

The artist of the photo to the right, Victor Eredel, "is a visual artist who uses hyper lucid surrealistic backgrounds with hand developed beings in his work. The storytelling and visual superiority of his works spoke to me, embraced me and inspired me to dream about the play as small children dream," explained Xavier.

When asked about his experiences designing at PlayMakers (4000 Miles, The Mountaintop), Xavier replied, "I think of PlayMakers as home... I feel so much warmth when I step through the doors of the Paul Green Theatre. I open up the doors and see my brothers and sisters working hard doing their craft and being passionate about theatre."

"The Neverland and the Wasp" 

 Here's an example a sketch by Xavier; he uses drawings to help visualize and create the lighting for each scene.

"We dreamed as kids and now we dream as artists"

Dream with us as Peter and the Starcatcher takes the stage November 18 - December 12.

Click here or call our Box Office 919-962-7529 for tickets.

Director Cody Nickell on imagining his "dream play," Mary's Wedding

In Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicotte, two actors come together to create a dream sequence taking us through horse rides, battle scenes and tea parties that ultimately lead to the blossoming of their love. The character Charlie first addresses the audience and makes it perfectly clear that the events to follow are part of a dream. "I ask you to remember that," he says. Director Cody Nickell says the dreamlike setting allows the production to break all rules of time, space, and at times, even character.

Cody had many difficult questions to answer at the start of the production process. The dream moves from place to place quickly, leaving complicated theatrical elements for Cody to consider. While some may see these questions as challenges, Cody chooses to see them as gifts.

"How do you bring to life a horse for a cavalry charge when there is no horse? How do you show a moonlit battle between trenches on the front lines of World War I with only two actors? And maybe most interesting, for all its theatricality, how do you show the simple story at the heart of this play about two young people falling in love?"

While the staging can be difficult, the underlying story of Mary's Wedding is much simpler. It follows the relationship of two young people in love and the Great War that comes between them. To escape a thunderstorm, Charlie, played by Myles Bullock, and Mary, played by Carey Cox, seek shelter in an old barn. In this setting, their vulnerabilities are exposed and we see sparks of love develop between them almost immediately. The audience follows their budding romance, and ultimately, their separation when Charlie is taken off to war.

"It begins at the end and ends at the beginning. There are sad parts. Don’t let that stop you from dreaming it too. " - Charlie, in his first monologue from Mary's Wedding.

The many imaginative gifts the production staff conjures will awaken the imaginations of audience members as well. "This engagement of audience imagination makes the experience active for them, not passive; they become witnesses, not just observers," says Cody. The actors are on a journey, but they invite the audience along to experience the terror and the hope that Charlie and Mary encounter.

Jeff Adelberg's mystic skyscapes and lighting will be a key factor in the quickly changing time, place and mood of the dream sequence. And Cody says costume designer Jade Bettin took initial costume ideas and ran with them, doing spectacular research and paying attention to details that further conceptualize the journey both the actors and audience traverse. Jeff's lighting paired with Jade's period costumes will pique imaginations and transform the stage from a physical space, to a fantastical world with no limits.

Cody says he's thrilled to collaborate with scenic designer Daniel Conway once again. Daniel's set has a circular frame creating a portal through which the audience views the story. This portal takes us from Canadian plains to European battlefields on a dynamic set that will evoke the many settings explored by the young lovers.

Experience the dream of Mary's Wedding with us April 29th to May 3rd!

Click here for more information or call our box office at 919.962.7529.

Desdemona Chiang on bridging generational gaps in 4000 Miles

Director, Desdemona Chiang.

At first, Leo and Vera seem to be an unlikely pair. Leo is 21-years-old, while Vera stands at 91 years young. Leo enjoys riding his bike cross-country, while Vera calls her neighbor daily to assure her she's still alive. Vera, played by Dee Maaske, is Leo's grandmother, but much time has passed since they last saw one another. After a heart-shattering loss, Leo, played by Schuyler Scott Mastain, shows up at Vera's door. His original plan to stay for one night turns into three weeks and a once improbable duo end up finding solace in one another.

Director, Desdemona Chiang, said she wanted to direct 4000 Miles because she loves plays that "explore family dynamics and human relationships." She definitely got what she bargained for with Leo and Vera. With two distinct characters lacking similarity at first, Desdemona wants the emphasis of the play to be placed on the fully developed relationship between Vera and Leo. She says it is the intricate moments between them that make 4000 Miles "both ordinary and utterly exceptional."

"It is a sweet, funny, and poignant story of two people who, as a result of an unexpected tragedy, find themselves connected and changed forever. "

Desdemona wants to ensure that the audience doesn't see Vera for her age, but for her vigor. She appreciates 4000 Miles for placing a character of Vera's age in a prominent role. Desdemona explains, "Americans are notoriously ageist—we usually regard the elderly as a social inconvenience and the discussion of death and dying to be uncomfortable, so oftentimes this particular demographic of people goes socially unacknowledged and ignored. It’s so satisfying to be working on a play that puts a 91 year-old woman at the center of the story." She said Vera reminds her of her own feisty, sharp, unapologetic grandmother.

Costume designs, by Jan Chambers, will be contemporary and will provide further insight into the

contrasts between Leo and Vera. As a twenty-something "neo-hippie," Leo will be dressed in either casual jeans and sweatshirts, or bicyclist attire. Vera will be dressed in flowing, comfortable pieces to reflect the routine she has fallen into.

Commerce Street in the West Village.

The play is set in Vera's apartment in Manhattan's West Village. Desdemona explains that she and scenic designer, Jan Chambers, sought to create an environment that told the story of Vera's everyday life before Leo showed up on her doorstep. She explains, "The placement of furniture, books, dishes,and other household items are very deliberate, and speak volumes about the kinds of life patterns she has developed over the years, and how that pattern gets disrupted (in both good and bad ways) when Leo arrives."

The mood onstage will be set by lighting designer, Xavier Pierce. Desdemona said they will utilize the lighting to "establish rhythms and the storytelling inside transitions in between scenes." Desk and floor lamps will contribute to the sense of intimacy between the characters.

4000 Miles has been challenging at times for Desdemona because she wants to maintain the beautiful simplicity of the relationship between Leo and Vera . She explained that in our current theatrical world, it can be tempting to create the "the bright flashy thing, the big social statement, or the jazz hands dance number," but that in 4000 Miles, the nuanced, fully-developed relationship matters most.

"This is play that doesn’t set out to change the world, yet the worlds of these two individuals are irrevocably changed."

What's Desdemona's goal? She said, "My hope is that by the end of the show, audience members will be gathered in the lobby calling their grandmothers or their grandchildren."

We invite you to experience the refreshingly honest, 4000 Miles, onstage April 1-19!

Click here for more info or call our box office at 919.962.PLAY (7529).

Kathy A. Perkins: Shining a Light on Trouble in Mind

Kathryn Hunter-Williams as Wiletta
Photo by Jon Gardiner

We've been very excited about our production of Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind, but perhaps none more so than company member Kathy A. Perkins. She is lighting designer for the show, but her connection is also personal. In 1984, she was asked to design for the premiere of Childress' Gullah at Third World Theater in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Kathy worked closely with Childress, and their collaboration grew into friendship. Kathy considers her a mentor, and you can still hear the admiration in her voice when she speaks of her. "I knew her the last ten years of her life. She was an amazing woman. Very passionate about what she did."

Alice Childress working on Gullah at Third World Theater in 1984. Photo courtesy of Kathy A. Perkins.

Childress' life was political, and it was reflected in her work. She wrote about strong women with integrity who were not afraid to speak up even when there was a cost. Kathy elaborates,

The women she wrote were so outspoken that they sacrificed financial gain or work, which was what Alice Childress was about. She suffered financially because she refused to compromise when it came to her work. She was a good person of incredible integrity and principles. She believed in what she wrote. She'd say, "This is the story I want to tell, if you're not interested in this story, then go somewhere else." 

We learned in our earlier posts by Mark Perry about how true this was, especially relating to Trouble in Mind. If you think that the political issues of the story are ones specific to the 1950s when the play was written, think again. "It is so timely," Kathy states. "Even though this play was written 60 years ago, everything she's talking about is still happening." She talks of her experience as an African-American woman in the theatre.

There are so few plays being produced by black women in the major theatres, and there are even fewer black women directing. The trend is usually a lot of black plays are being directed by white directors. I'm not saying they shouldn't, but I'm saying where do black women go to direct? Are they being allowed to direct a white play? I have to remind theatre companies that I have the same MFA in lighting that my white collegues have. I can do Shakespeare. You don't have to call me just for "the black show." So, in a sense, things haven't really changed.

Alice Childress working on Gullah at Third World Theater in 1984. Photo courtesy of Kathy A. Perkins.

Kathy's approach to each project varies from show to show, but the work that Kathy has created on our stage for this production is particularly inspired. She says she drew from "the spirit of Alice Childress" and designed how she expects she would have wanted the stage to look. Childress was into realism with as little distraction as possible. Kathy captures the dinginess of backstage work lights, finding sepia colors to add a vintage quality of the era. The lights get brighter as the show builds, going from warm to cool hues, paralleling the tension of the play.

One of the most poignant moments of the play is delivered by Roger Robinson as Sheldon describing a disturbing event from his past. You will see for yourself Kathy's hand in the scene and just how integral her design work is to this piece.

Jorge Donoso, Carey Cox, Roger Robinson, Suzette Azariah Gunn and Schuyler Scott Mastain. Photo by Jon Gardiner.

Trouble in Mind is onstage through February 8. Click here and buy your tickets now.

Trouble in Mind: Dress Rehearsal

The cast of Trouble in Mind performed their final dress rehearsal last night! Here's a peek below. The show is in previews now and will be running at PlayMakers through Feb 8.

Also, listen to the premiere episode of Thank You 10, a UNC Department of Dramatic Art Podcast created by PlayMakers company member, Gregory DeCandia. Episode 1 spotlights Trouble in Mind and features conversations with Director Jade King Carroll, Lighting Designer Kathy A. Perkins, and Actors Myles Bullock and Suzette Azariah Gunn.


 

KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer and SCHUYLER SCOTT MASTAIN as Al Manners
(Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins, SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis and CAREY COX as Judy Sears (Photo by Jon Gardiner) 

L to R: KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer, ROGER ROBINSON as Sheldon Forrester, MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins, CAREY COX as Judy Sears and SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: MYLES BULLOCK as John Nevins and CAREY COX as Judy Sears (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis, JEFFREY BLAIR CORNELL as Bill O’Wray and SCHUYLER SCOTT MASTAIN as Al Manners (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

ROGER ROBINSON as Sheldon Forrester (Photo by Jon Gardiner)

L to R: KATHRYN HUNTER-WILLIAMS as Wiletta Mayer and SUZETTE AZARIAH GUNN as Millie Davis
(Photo by Jon Gardiner)

PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of “Trouble in Mind” by Alice Childress.
January 21 – February 8, 2015. Directed by Jade King Carroll.

Call 919-962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org.
 

Opening Night Performance of Wrestling Jerusalem

Tonight is opening night for the regional premiere of Wrestling Jerusalem, performed by Aaron Davidman on the PRC² stage. It may seem a simple thing to execute a one-man show, but Aaron Davidman, his California-based crew, and all of us here at PlayMakers have been working tirelessly on the heels of the holidays. There’s no such thing as a small show for us!

The set for Wrestling Jerusalem is simply a painted back drop. One actor. No costume changes. No props. So how is it that this production can capture the realities of 18 characters caught within one of the most consuming global conflicts of our lifetime? The answer lies greatly in the work of lighting designer Allen Willner and sound designer Bruno Louchouarn. “The lighting and sound design work together to create the different spaces that I travel in and inhabit,” Aaron explains to us. “The lighting shapes each moment, helping transform the space both in terms of physicality and mood. The sound design is also paramount to this production, creating an audio landscape, sometimes of the realistic sounds of place, other times more ethereal for mood or emotional or spiritual tone.”

With these elements in place, the work each night of course falls primarily on Aaron’s shoulders.

"The mental focus and concentration that is demanded of me is profound, and the physical endurance of this particular piece–90 minutes without pause—is very challenging. But it is the topic itself that has been the most challenge to wrestle with, so to speak."

Though he is alone onstage, Aaron did not work alone on the production. “My director Michael John Garcés and I worked very closely together—he was a wonderful dramaturg—and he helped find the performative modes that keep the piece moving and very theatrical.”

We are proud to be Aaron’s first stop on his national tour. Don’t miss your chance to see it here! Click here for more info or call our box office at 919.962.PLAY (7529).

Creating Lighting Designs

By Josh Epstein, lighting designer, Into the Woods and A Midsummer Nights Dream

Josh Epstein

Theater design of all types often begins by thinking about metaphors. As designers we try to get to the heart of what the playwright is saying and find a visual way to enhance or clarify that message. Sometimes it is about establishing a grounded, “real” place to set the play in and sometimes it is about creating an abstraction. When you are working on two plays at once there is an additional challenge of trying to find the commonalities between two completely separate works to create some sort of through-line between the two: from Shakespeare to Sondheim and back again. In the case of both of these plays the most obvious commonality is the woods. As a designer I have spent a lot of time thinking 

Working on the lighting for the Rep. Photo by Laura Pates.

about how these woods should feel for the actors and the audience. And in the end I came to the realization that it is less about literal trees and bushes and more about the idea of journey. And from a lighting point of view that meant finding a way to evolve the space and embrace the exploration without grounding the location too specifically. I have tried to create an environment where we can evolve from a starting point where there the lighting reveals everything and has a sense of solidity and architecture to a world that is full of shadow and texture. The characters adventure from what feels like a world with a clear and steady footing to a place that hides mysteries and the unknown and they emerge on the other side. I hope the audience joins them as they discover and relate to the journey for themselves.

Come see Into the Woods and A Midsummer Night's Dream at PlayMakers November 1 - December 7. For tickets, call 919.962.PLAY (7529) or visit our website.

Meet the Creatives: "Into the Woods"

If you have not heard, anything can happen in the woods. Magic, mischief and mayhem take over at PlayMakers during our 2014/15 Mainstage repertory shows, Into the Woods and A Midsummer Night's Dream. The first is the modern classic Into the Woods, from the mind of Stephen Sondheim. This whimsical tale weaves together classic fairy tales, with a twist, and garnered multiple Tony Awards.

Joe Haj

We have put together a fantastic creative team for our production of Into the Woods, to bring to life this fairytale world.

PlayMakers own Joe Haj will direct Into the Woods. Last season Joe co-directed both Metamorphoses and The Tempest, bringing these mythological and mystical tales to life for one of PlayMakers most memorable rotating repertory events ever. After all, who can forget the 4000 gallon pool built in the middle of the Paul Green Theatre! Joe will bring his considerable creative vision to Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical, and it’s sure to be an enchanting evening.

Marion Williams is returning to PlayMakers to bring some magic to the stage as the scenic designer for Into the Woods and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Marion is a longtime collaborator with PlayMakers. Her work was last here in 2013, when she brought to life the tantalizing world of The Kit Kat Klub for Cabaret. She has designed sets and costumes for a number of PlayMakers' past productions, and we are thrilled to have her back.

The costume designer for Into the Woods is Bill Brewer. This will be Bill's first time working with PlayMaker. Bill has designed for theatre, ballet, opera, film and television, both nationally and internationally. He is on the costume design faculty of the University of North Carolina School for the Arts. In addition to his numerous theatre and ballet projects, he has designed numerous projects for PBS and worked as an assistant designer for Lucas Film.

Josh Epstein is the lighting designer for Into the Woods. We last saw Josh's lighting design at PlayMakers in the 2013 production Cabaret. Josh designs lighting for theater, opera and dance as well as environmental and event spaces. Josh will be doing the lighting design for both of our rep shows this season, and we are looking forward to seeing his take on these productions.

If you are looking for the choreographer behind the fantastic cake walks of Assassins or the raucous dance numbers from Cabaret, then Casey Sams is your woman. She will be choreographing Into the Woods. Casey Sams is a resident artist at the Clarence Brown Theater, where she works as a director and choreographer. She is also head of undergraduate studies and an associate professor of theatre at University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Rounding out our creative team is puppet designer Donovan Zimmerman. Donovan is the co-founder of Paperhand Puppet Intervention. He brings his creations to life using cardboard, corn starch, bamboo, old house paints, and other assorted odds and ends. We are excited to have him as part of our Into the Woods creative team.

Into the Woods and A Midsummer Night's Dream will be performed in repertory at PlayMakers November 1 through December 7. Subscriptions for the 2014/2015 Mainstage Season are on sale now and single tickets will be available in July.

Meet the Creatives: "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike"

PlayMakers kicks off the 2014/15 Mainstage Season with Christopher Durang’s hysterical farce Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, that riffs on the tradition of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Not only did it win the Tony for Best New Play, it was honored with tons of awards and nominations from the New York theatre scene.

Libby Appel

We’re so excited about the team we’ve assembled for our production of Vanya, which includes both new and familiar faces. 

Libby Appel returns to PlayMakers to direct this production. She was last here during the 2008/09 Season directing The Glass Menagerie. Libby spent 21 seasons as artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. In 2010, she became only the sixth person to receive the Kennedy Center’s Stephen and Christine Schwarzman Legacy Award for Excellence in Theatre, which recognizes “lifetime achievement in theatre and unparalleled commitment to the future of the art form through teaching.” Not only does she have an incredible career as a director and leader, she has a rich history adapting the works of Anton Chekhov. She seemed like the perfect director to tackle Durang’s love letter/send up of Russia’s greatest playwright.

Designing the Bucks County estate where all the action of the play takes place is scenic designer Michael Dempsey. Michael comes to PlayMakers from Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA) in Santa Monica, California. This is his first time designing for PlayMakers. Michael is the conservatory director and director of technical training for PCPA and has also designed for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Sacramento Theatre Company, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Syracuse Stage Williamstown Theater Festival and Off-Broadway.

Jan Chambers

PlayMakers brilliant resident designer Jan Chambers is creating the costumes for the show which range from the pedestrian to something straight out of a fairytale. You’ll remember her work on the set and clothes for last year’s rep of The Tempest and Metamorphose. Jan is a faculty member of the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC Chapel Hill, where she teaches theatre, scenic and costume design.

Peter West. Photographer: Kate Dale

The lighting designer for Vanya will be Peter West. Peter has a long-standing relationship with PlayMakers and has done the lights for many shows here over the years including: Blue Door, The Bluest Eye, Yellowman, Luminosity, Hobson's Choice, Uncle Vanya, Proof and Playboy of the Western World. West is based in Brooklyn, New York.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will be performed at PlayMakers September 17 through October 5. Subscriptions for the 2014/2015 season are on sale now and single tickets will be available in July.

"The Making of a World" by Elizabeth Moss

by Props Artisan Elizabeth Moss

Elizabeth works in the PlayMakers Props Shop, which is responsible for building or borrowing all the props and furniture for each production, including The Making of a King.


"The Making of a World: Props for Henrys IV and V"
Down in the scene shop they’re putting on the final touches, onstage they’re focusing lights and painting late into the night. Upstairs the costume shop is racing to the finish, and directly above us we can hear the sounds of battle being staged.

But what are we doing down in the prop shop, tucked away in the middle of the building?  Some days it seems like everything! The nature of a prop shop is wide ranging, and if it’s not worn or part of the stage: we’re doing it. We’ve got everything you need to wage two wars in two countries. On a thrust stage where the actual scenery does not change from one place to another, it is the furniture that indicates the shift from a London Palace to a battlefield in France. Let me give you a little idea of what’s going on in the shop.

Today the front table is littered in letters, arrest warrants, and proclamations: paper goods are almost finished: a few royal looking seals, some ribbon maybe, and each set (there are many backups for each letter) will be packaged in an envelope, and labeled with scene number and short description
Over on the ironing table is a fur lined blankets for the Percys. Gets cold up in those northern castles I guess. Draped over one of the sewing machines is a pile of gold fabric; it’s just been turned into a Pavilion drape for the French. On the back tables Joncie, one of our fabulous over-hires is making a flask and holster for Falstaff.  We’re also working on reupholstering a chaise, and building a bathtub. Down the ships ladder in the carpentry area we’ve just finished with Henry IV’s bed and the bottom half of the chaise.

Then there’s the life sized boar in the hallway. We’ll call him Richard. We’re still not sure if he’ll be making his PlayMakers’ Debut with this show, but he’s fun to have around.

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The Making of a King: Henry IV & Henry V is now playing through March 4. Click here for more information and tickets.