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J. B.
by Archibald MacLeish Director Iva Jean Saraceni Scenic/Puppet Design David M. Maslow Lighting Design Norman Beck Costume Design Susan O’Neill Produced by Seton Hill University A really exciting project! How often do you get to play with puppets and the Book of Job? The text is a “modern” resetting of the biblical tale: standing ins for God and the Devil gamble over JB’s tested faith and watch as it plays out as a play within the play. To help the audience feel less distanced from the action of the outer play, I treated the audience space as though it was under renovation: wrapping the proscenium and sections of the house with plastic sheeting and installing scaffolding. This allowed us to move much of the action into the house and the freedom to increase the scale of text's allegorical figures (representations of science, history and religion). By making them 10-foot tall pageantry-style puppets, their physical presence matched the perceived importance they hold in the world of the play, shifting them (we felt) from individuals to cultural archetypes. The puppets were constructed by SHU students and myself. Gianni Schicchi
Music Giacomo Puccini Libretto Giovacchino Forzano Music & Stage Direction ETSU Division of Opera Scenic/Lighting Design David M. Maslow Costume Design Pamela Hurley Produced at East Tennessee State University From the director hoping for something "fresh and fun" came this bold and simple exploration of shapes and colors. Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare Director Gene "Doc" Saraceni Scenic Design David M. Maslow Lighting Design Norman Beck Costume Design Susan O’Neill Produced by Seton Hill University I cannot explain why, but the director was committed to the set being, "a Victorian Valentine's Day card (despite this being one of the darker comedies in the cannon). I followed his lead - and taught a lot of students to make (flame retarded) crepe-paper flowers. The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams Director Joseph Rice Scenic/Lighting Design David M. Maslow Costume Design Pamela Hurley Produced at East Tennessee State University Worlds within worlds within worlds: Laura’s menagerie and typing area are among the smaller spaces within the apartment (contradictorily, both confined and yet open) which exists within a discrete outer world (defined variously by both warm bricks and harsh, white, light boxes) helping delineate the “outer play” from which Tom remembers the events of the past. The Real Inspector Hound
by Tom Stoppard Director Joseph Rice Scenic/Lighting Design David M. Maslow Costume Design Pamela Hurley Produced at East Tennessee State University A metatheatrical romp about the clichés of stage plays (specifically, country house murder mysteries), the performers who enact them, the critics who review them, and the audiences who attend them, it seemed important to find a way to have our audience to look at itself. Since the venue was a mid-sized proscenium house, I elected to pull out the rear several rows and to put them onstage, creating a transverse playing space complete with footlights on either side to bother everybody (my apologies to Mr.’s Brecht & Foreman). Hansel and Gretel
Music Engelbert Humperdinck Libretto Adelheid Wette Music & Stage Direction ETSU Division of Opera Scenic/Lighting Design David M. Maslow Costume Design Pamela Hurley Produced at East Tennessee State University "Magical, cheap, family friendly, and able to tour" was what they wanted. While I doubt that the flying witch shadow puppet ever left the university, the rest could easily fit in a van with costumes and more. |
Bildad puppet on the set of J.B.
Set for the East Tennessee StateUniversity production of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi
Seton Hill's set for 12th Night
Amanda and Laura in East Tennessee State University's production of The Glass Menagerie
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