Glory Denied

Syracuse Opera/ Anchorage Opera 2015/2017

     Glory Denied is a new work that examines the life of Colonel Jim Thompson, the longest held POW of Vietnam,  By the time he was found and returned home his country and family had moved on.  This story is told through four characters.  Old Thompson, present day, Young Thompson, captive in Vietnam, Old Alyce, present day and Young Alyce, a composite herself and Jim’s fantasy version of her.  

     The Director, Helena Binder, wanted the story to move fluidly between past and present, sometimes blending the worlds.  She and I met in person and had discussions by email and phone over a period of two months.  We developed our design using three moving screens that could be projected on as well bled through, allowing the actor to be visible behind the screen or image.

    For this production I built the set and spent a couple months gathering, creating and editing still images and video.  The images are used to cover the entire space as well as be isolated on individual screens.  I learned a lot about projection design and working with lighting to achieve the most impact with slide imagery.  Lighting can wash out a slide and make it hard to discern the image.

     I also experimented with using aluminum foil on the floor as well as center panel which gave an exciting brilliance to some of the slide images.

     In January 2017, I was asked to go to Anchorage Alaska, with the original team, and remount the production.  I was able to improve Research: candle vigil Research: candle vigil Research: candle vigil Research: candle vigil and refine some of the painting technique as well improve the slides and video.  On my second to the last day, the Director asked me to redesign a choreographed video sequence which I had to work on through the night and edit before my last rehearsal there.

     I learned a great deal ad am excited to keep developing my design work with projections and video as scenery.