The Moors

Director: Lacy Post

Scene Design: Beth Shambo

Costume Designer: Callie Lythgoe

Lighting Designer: Austin Bomkamp

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MFA Thesis Design

 

The Moors design was a collaboration between many Creative disciplines. Collaborating with the designers to create a world that is compelling and cohesive. Creating designs that take the costume design and the scenic design to bring them closer to play in cohesion with the emotion of the actors is the goal of my design. There are many parts to my design process, discussing with design team, researching ideas and thoughts, working in rehearsals to understand the dialog that the actors created, drafting a plot that works for the space and fits the design,and combining everything into actual lighting cues and design. Analyzing the script and discussion was the first steps into the design, figuring out what direction the design team wanted to go. There was ideas of using translucent materials as the walls for the indoor but we later settle on a set that has interior furniture and no walls with the moors located behind. Lightings main goal was to help notify the audience where the actors were, the weather, and time of day. Apart of the scenic design was a fluid blend between the interior and exterior part of the stage, making it very important for the lighting to illuminate the stage in a way that helps tell the audience if the action was taking place inside or outside. Using photos that I gathered to help the portray some of my ideas was the start to my research with the goal to find images that represented all of the different looks in the show. Researching and gathering images that represented my design with the colors fitting into the color pallet. These photos include images from the Moors, outdoors, foggy and over casted weather, older interiors that fit the feeling that we were looking for in the play. Focus on gathering warmer images for interior and gray and cold for the exterior looks was the theme of the design. After all of the research was collected I started creating the idea of the design into a physical design by plotting lighting fixtures in drafting, figuring out the location and equipment need to make this design come alive. This design included the use of LED and fluorescent fixture. A large part of my design is based off the actors and how they present their characters. During designer runs and rehearsals I follow how the actors interact and try to match the mood and feel of the lights to the actors making a design that has more power and depth.

 

Additionally this design incorporated a translucent drop, something I never had the opportunity to explore until this production. I was able to experiment with the drop and found that I was able to create many different looks through the use of the light's equipment. I was able to manipulate the lights on the drop to fit many design elements including time of day, weather, and mood. Creating a highly dynamic and powerful element to the show. Having this opportunity to experiment and learn with this design Element has expanded my skill and knowledge as a designer.

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Photos Credit: Austin Bomkamp