The Laramie Project

SUNY Cortland Performing Arts 2016

     During my interview, here at Cortland, I sat with Mark S. Reynolds, Director for Laramie Project.  He talked about the word of the play and that the play was about the whole town and the surrounding landscape, both physical and emotional.  As we talked I envisioned the story unfolding in a field of wheat blowing in a mild summer wind.  

    The Laramie Project is told through actual interviews and moves from location to location I a cinematic style.  I knew I couldn’t actually have the play performed I a moving wheat filed, but the image remained.  I experimented with using a projected image of a wheat filed blowing in the wind.  I decided to further experiment with aluminum foil, a material I had used in several other projects, and shine the video projections on the floor.

    For Laramie I decided I needed a raked stage, an inclined playing area moving from the flat front of the stage up to an 18 inch elevation.  I proceeded to cover the whole floor in foil then painted and projected my wheat field idea.  I also created something unusual at SUNY Cortland, a reduced playing space within the theatre box frame.  I inset the playing space, like an island inside the black box of the Dowd.  This created a finite box or acting area that limited the world of the play, almost like putting it under a magnifying glass.

    In the background I used cut plastic sheeting for the sky, another experimental element.  It’s translucency allowed it to disappear in some scenes and remain present for others.  This was an allusion to the ever present Wyoming sky and mountain ranges.

     On stage I perforated the floor and used Christmas lights to create an image of a reflected night sky as well as using larger illuminated circles to enhance the candlelight vigil scene.

    I learned more about projection technology and angle of incidence with mirrored surfaces as my images weren’t living up to my expectations. My projections on the floor were disappearing, in some cases making the floor look black.  The angle of the floor created a bounce and my vision of the wheat field was lost. 

    I learned a great deal on this project and having a trusting Director allowed me to experiment with materials and projections and keep pushing y art and design to new heights.  Students and faculty alike have commented on a what a difference it makes to have a resident designer and visionary.  They have told me that I elevated the quality of the work at the University.