Based on the popularity of Live Design's 31 Days Of Plots in December each year, we have decided to present Plot Of The Week, with a light plot (or plots) per week until December 2023, when the next 31 Days Of Plots begins.
The world premiere of Sandra took place in late 2022 at the Off-Broadway Vineyard Theatre on Union Square in New York. Written by David Cale with original music by Matthew Dean Marsh, the one-woman play stars Marjan Neshat directed by Obie Award-winner Leigh Silverman.
Thom Weaver spoke to Live Design about working at the Vineyard and creating a design that evokes multiple locations and moods.
Live Design: Was this your first time working at the Vineyard?
Thom Weaver: Yes, first time there. I’ve admired their work for some time, and I hope it’s not the last. It’s a wonderfully supportive and conscientious company, under some pretty stellar leadership.
LD: Were you restricted to using the house rig?
TW: No, most of the package came from PRG, which worked with us on getting to where we needed to be, including a few weird requests. As with anything off-Broadway, the budget was limited so PRG’s collaboration was extremely helpful.
LD: For a previous production at Philadelphia's Wilma Theatre, you had mentioned that the Wilma has a collection of cool old fixtures, did you have access to anything like that for this production?
TW: Not on this one no, not in that sense. I did use a length of City Theatrical NuNeon as an uplight for the back wall to capture that particularly quality of light that only neon can provide. So you didn’t see the neon, just its light. I really love that, using non-traditional fixtures in the theatre. Lights that strip you of the amount of control you have over, say, a Lustr.
For the most part, though, this project was, as Stan Pressner used to say, “meat and potatoes”. Source 4s and LEDs. The real trick was using the set windows on either side as a sort of lighting instrument themselves. The whole design is driven by this sense of an Edward Hopper-esque light. Motivated by the window, but lyrical. Dramatic angles through the window, including some light that doesn’t hit any part of the set at all.
LD: What were your workhorses?
TW: We used a great deal of LED gear on the back wall to get a dynamic, shifting sense of color and texture. The wall, designed by Rachel Hauck, was brimming with beautiful and intricate textures, and was extremely transformative. It was a dynamic palette to work with, so I relied on LEDs to give it depth and movement.
We also needed a strong statement for the end of the play, something that reflected the end of Sandra’s journey. Something that was moving and beautiful, but also spoke to her sense of contentment. We ended up using some new (or at least updated) technology from Rosco, the X-Effects LED Projector 5500K. Henry Cowen and Caroline Connell really jumped through hoops to help us choose the right unit and get it into the theater, for which I’m really grateful. We were able to create a really moving water effect that gave the sense that Sandra was immersed in the ocean, floating. It was a really powerful way to end the play.
LD: How did you evoke different places with such a sparse set?
TW: Most of the play is Sandra’s journey, from Brooklyn to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I wanted to summon the painterly colors of that amazing town on the Pacific, with its stunning sunsets and water. But I also wanted to create a sense of progression. At first her time there, as she looks for her friend, is re-affirming and life-giving to Sandra. But over time the trips become more tense, more dangerous. So the goal was to tune the colors from pastels and beauty to something more foreboding. The pastels kind of blend into each other, like a watercolor, while the starker and more primary colors created a tension with one-another.
Brooklyn was a different journey, cool and steely at first. But as the thriller gets more tense, Brooklyn becomes brighter, starker, sharper.
And then for her journey at the end to Northern California, I really wanted to open it all up. Bright, full of air and light. Full of sun. Safe. Maybe that’s the best word for it: safe.
LD: What was most challenging and where did you draw inspiration from?
TW: With any solo play there’s a dialogue with the performer about when they’re reporting and when they’re experiencing. It’s so essential not to over-light, not to do the performer’s work for them. Leigh Silverman is a master at this, I doubt there’s anyone better.
David Cale and Leigh were both inspired by Edward Hopper’s Morning Sun as they set about writing and making the play. It’s an amazing touchstone, and really I would add that it became more like Edward Hopper meets Alfred Hitchcock. While it’s intimidating when you’re drawing on those two as your inspiration, they’re a rich palette to work from.
LD: What is your favorite moment?
TW: There’s a moment where Sandra has spent the night with someone, and we crossfade to the aftermath. There’s a single warm light streaming through the window, holding them. It’s really beautiful but what makes it beautiful was the synergy of everyone to get it like that. Leigh’s elegantly simple staging. Matthew Dean Marsh’s powerfully beautiful piano score. Rachel’s window being in just the right place. Marjan Neshat’s perfect timing and physicality. The rhythm of David’s writing that leads us to the release and romanticism of the moment. The coral beauty of Linda Cho’s dress and the perfect placement of sound by Kathryn Ruvuna. Katie Ailinger calling that cue with immense artistry.
It’s an all-swim cue. Everyone had a hand in its beauty. That’s just so satisfying.
- Playwright David Cale
- Composer Matthew Dean Marsh
- Director Leigh Silverman
- Assoc. Director Borna Barzin
- Scenic Designer Rachel Hauck
- Asst. Scenic Designer Jessie Bonaventure
- Lighting Designer Thom Weaver
- Associate Lighting Designer Stoli Stolnack
- Sound Designer Kathy Ruvuna
- Costume Designer Linda Cho
- Asst. Costume Designer Raul Luna
- Prop Supervisor Corinne Gologursky