Directed by Brittany Welch Crooke and James Early, this production of Shrek The Musical Jr. for middle-school aged children was performed in Theatre Apsen’s Hurst Theatre.
The design for the musical centered around exploring the aesthetics fairy-tales through a modern lens. Embracing the pared-down and deliberately simple set, my goal was to recreate the universally familiar setting of a fairy tale - equal parts magical, ominous, and lively - with an abstracted use of lighting. Relying on color and form in this abstracted way allowed me to leave behind requirements of realism or literalism, and instead use lighting to more strongly underline the moments and messages of the musical.
The abstraction of the traditional fairy-tale aesthetic also allowed me to draw on techniques from lighting for live music, as well as form-driven approaches to lighting dance. Making use of these techniques supported the modern interpretation of the fairy-tale aesthetic by using a widely known and recognized contemporary visual language, and helped establish an atmosphere that supported and reflected the young actors’ performances.
