"In The Fête of Mistakes, Psychic Readings Co constructs an abstract fairground littered with the overwhelmingness of despair and the sustained tension of hopefulness." 

This production, produced by Psychic Readings Theater, given at Baltimore's Le Mondo in December 2016, presented a number of interesting challenges and opportunities.  The performance space, having no existing lighting system, grid or other infrastructure, was adapted into an intimate, even claustrophobic theater that opened out into the wider space of Le Mondo for a spectacular finale demolition derby. Lighting instruments, ranging from LED flashlights to clip lights to standard theatrical fixtures, were used to create a shadowy, subterranean space situated (or not) beneath Niagara Falls.
 
Projections were carefully prepared to create a seamless, hypnotic moving mandala and other apparitions which helped propel the plot of this all-American demimonde.
 
In addition, I appeared (as David J. Crandall) with a prophetic song in the penultimate climax of the evening:
 
“But you must hurry! Don’t you dare be late!
The engine of fate has no governor! Get what’s coming to you! Go! Go!”

Photos by Dave Iden

One of my favorite classical works is Mozart's Magic Flute, a singspiel that is connected, not only to high opera, but to the rowdy German music halls of its time. So I was delighted when, in 2015, Annex Theater asked me to help as music director in staging this gem in a tiny, 30-person theater on North Avenue.

Budget ruled an orchestra out of the question—the score would have to be played on computer and built in software—but  it occurred to me to embrace this fact by scoring the orchestra as a collection of sampled toy, mechanical, and a few historical and folk instruments. By "historical" I mean samples of not just 18th century orchestral instruments, but also authentic 1950s and 60s synthesizers, including the unique Jennings Univox, a vacuum-tube instrument from 1954. The result was an exceptionally warm and unique accompaniment for the singers. The score was mixed in 4-channel surround and played back on computer. 

Annex company member Jacob Budenz joined me as director of the singers, and we collaborated on stylistic details; Evan Moritz directed the staging, and Doug Johnson provided magnificent painted backdrops that paged like a giant picture-book to reveal the settings.

Photos by Dave Iden

My lighting designs have  focused on guerilla techniques for non-traditional spaces and productions. For her 2016 Theatre Project performance Subject/Object,  Naoko Maeshiba turned the theater around, seating the audience on the stage. This enabled her to "swim" down the audience risers through billowing plastic waves, lit from beneath, and emerge from the first row of the theater as a newborn creature.  Strategically placed household LEDs were used to prevent heat buildup to creat the "waves."  For an appropriately warm look for the "birthing" sequence, small "hot lights" were placed in the front row. 
After a second act that was a comedic cabaret, the third section of the piece turned dark and mysterious as the audience, now facing the back of the stage, witnessed a  performance tied together by mystery, sound and salt.

The Shattering Frame was a unique noir tale of urban corruption, produced by Annex Theater in 2017. Director Trevor Wilhelms wanted a shadowy, fluid lighting treatment, controlled by the actors during performance. Four small spotlights were hand-held by performers and controlled from the dimmer system. This  low-tech "moving lights" approach permitted many unique effects to be produced, which lent the story the demimondaine aspect it deserved.

The Fête of Mistakes, produced by Psychic Readings Company at Le Mondo in December 2016, presented a number of interesting challenges and opportunities. The performance space, lacking an existing lighting system or grid, became an intimate, claustrophobic theater that opened out into the wider space of Le Mondo for a spectacular finale demolition derby. Lighting instruments, ranging from LED flashlights to clip lights to standard theatrical fixtures, were used to create a subterranean "Cave of the Winds" beneath Niagara Falls.

I have been fortunate to play a number of acting roles, ranging from a composite character in Annex Theater’s Macbeth, who witnesses the action of the play in a drunken post-battle fugue, to a classic role as Father Jack in Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa, to a funeral director with a twist in Annex’s UBIK. These opportunities have deepened my understanding of the totality of theater on both sides of the footlights.
 
In addition to those pictured, I have also played the roles of:
 

• The Announcer (voice-over) in Psychic Readings’ The Failures (2016-7)
• The Old Man in Psychic Readings’ The Purple Flower (2015).
• The Second Messenger in Two Suns Over Thebes, Annex Theater's adaptation of The Bacchae (2013).
• Prologue/Sergeant/Porter/Old Man and Seyton in Annex Theater’s Macbeth (2013)
• Herbert Schoenheit von Vogelsang in Annex’s UBIK (2012).

For THE SHATTERING FRAME, a unique noir tale of urban corruption, Annex Theater director Trevor Wilhelms wanted a shadowy, fluid lighting treatment, controlled by his actors during performance. Four small spotlights were hand-held by performers and controlled from the dimmer system. This  low-tech "moving lights" approach permitted many unique effects to be produced, which lent the story the demimondaine aspect it deserved. 

Photos by Allyson Washington