SELECTED UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS LIGHTING DESIGNS
'Holy Wars' by Rob Florence, Dir. Karen-Kaia Livers
Scenic Design, Kevin Griffith
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
This original work was inspired by seance archives housed in UNO's Earl K Long Library, and the intertwined stories of Andre Cailloux and the Louisiana Native Guard, and the abolitionist priest, Fr. Maistre, of St. Rose de Lima Church, on Bayou Road in New Orleans. The visuals for the production were influenced by Aaron Douglas' painting 'From Slavery through Reconstruction.'
'the Moors' by Jen Silverman, Dir. Madison Smith
Scenic Design, Kevin Griffith
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
For this eerie and funny gothic exploration of love and female power, we created an environment inspired by the ideas of time and isolation, incorporating visual and aural elements influenced by watches, music boxes, and carousels, from both the 1880's and 1980's.
'No Exit' by Jean-Paul Sartre, Dir. David Hoover
Scenic Design, Nihal Hassan Abdulla
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
In this classic existentialist piece, the creative team leaned heavily into the 2nd Empire styling, while keeping the characters and the music in the world of a 1940's hotel.
'Blood at the Root' by Dominique Morisseau,
Dir. R'Myni Watson
Scenic Design, Jacob Bensimon
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
The designs for 'Blood at the Root' were driven by the imagery of the tree, central to the action of the play. This production was selected for the Region 6 KCACTF Festival, and received several recognitions for design, as well as a National Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship.
'the Emperor Jones'
by Eugene O'Neill,
Dir. William Ware
Scenic Design, Kevin Griffith
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
This was our second offering in the Fall of 2020. We treated it as a stage play, but partnered with the Film program to offer it for online viewing, as we were not yet able to facilitate audiences indoors. Visually inspired by Aaron Douglas' 'Emperor Jones' series, as well as his paintings, the lighting incorporated concentric shapes and misty layers of scrim and haze, as Jones' visions appeared to him and dissolved back into the forest.
'Single Black Female'
by Lisa B. Thompson,
Dir. Richon May
Scenic Design, Kevin Griffith and Adachi Pimentel
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
'Single Black Female' was our first production in the Fall of 2020, and was rehearsed and presented entirely on Zoom. The two graduate actors lived in adjacent campus housing, which we treated as one would a film set location, taking turns occupying the spaces to keep everyone distanced as much as possible. The actors then used their own computers to control the shots for the presentation, while the Stage Manager ran sound and some camera elements from another computer off-site. The final presentation was a continuous Zoom recording, there was no editing of the final presentation.
'Fool for Love'
by Sam Shepard,
Dir. Margaret Tonra
Scenic Design, Jane Tardo
Poster Art by Caroline Mendez
The driving metaphor for this production was horses bucking inside a trailer, which shaped the space and the decision to have the audience view the characters through the exterior wall of the motel room.
