Brighton Beach Memoirs

La Croix Black Box Theatre
Viterbo University
La Crosse, Wisconsin
February, 2002
Lighting Design by Luke Kritzeck
Costume Design by Sandy Harvey
Directed by Rick Walters
 

The model for this production.
 

Production Notes:
The first time I worked on this show, it was as a lighting designer in a very different space (see that page if you like). What I brought with me to this production is the color palette.

The primary focus of the scenery for our production of this play is the warmth and caring of the family unit, despite the stresses placed on it from the outside world and from within.   The scenery's primary emphasis was the interior of the home, where the scenery reflects this warmth in the color palette.  In addition,  a bit of exterior (roofing sections) abstracted as a background, providing the lighting designer with the ability to subtly reflect the outside influences on the family through careful use of color and texture.  Since the theatre is a black box, with seating for this production set up in a thrust arrangement, the bulk of the playing area was left with as few visual obstacles as possible, while the house unit provided a dimensional backdrop and practical playing space for the needed upstairs locations.  Since there was a need to maximize seating space, we pushed the limit of wrapping the audience around the performance space.  The variation of the scenery, along with the width of the main performing space, provided the three sections of the audience wish unique experiences in viewing the play, one of the wonderful and dangerous things of designing for the trust.  The director, however, used this to great advantage and provided each section with wonderful visual moments as evidenced in the production photos.