USITT Rising Star Sean Savoie’s Lighting Design Concepts

Winner of the 2009 USITT Rising Star Award, sponsored by LDI and Live Design, with additional support this year by Nemetschek North America/Vectorworks, Sean Savoie provides commentary of some of his recent productions:

Richard the Third, William Shakespeare, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:

“I wanted the design of this show to be royal yet cold and heartless at the same time. The primary angles of light came from direct sides. Two colors, a deep purple (L797) and pale blue (L201) provided the proper mix. I was able to balance these colors and then use specific amber sources to pick out key moments of the production, such as this moment in Act IV Scene 1 after Richard locks the children in the tower.”

A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:

“This show has always been near and dear to me as it takes place in my hometown of New Orleans. I wanted to evoke the beauty of that city, with its influences of jazz and easy-going nature. Just as the city is rich in its heritage, I enriched it with dramatic and saturated colors. While this became the background for the design, Rembrandt did influence my choices in sculpting the warmth of the bedroom and poker scenes.”

Washington University Dance Theatre, Washington University in St. Louis, choreographed by David Marchant:

“This dance piece was a rather creepy interpretation of dance theatre. Marchant describes it as "an homage/collage of late 20th-century jazz dance vocabulary, composed in a 'minimalist' form." That being said, I incorporated the boldness one may find in a production of Chicago with the simplicity of single sided lighting. While I often alternated which angle the highlight came from, seldom was it ever more than one direction. The movements were slow and methodic, with which the lighting fell in perfect rhythm.”

Related Article:

Sean Savoie To Receive Fifth Annual Rising Star Award