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It Can't Happen Here
Produced by Santa Rosa Junior College, Fall 2017
Written by Bennett S. Cohen and Tony Taccone
Based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis
Directed by Leslie McCauley
Prop Design by Julia Kwitchoff
Costume Design - Ariel Allen
Sound Design - Fiona Sharkey
Lighting Design - Vincent Mothersbaugh
Photography by Jeff Thomas
It Can't Happen Here is a play set in America toward the end of the Depression era and the presidential election is morally divisive and uneasy. The man eventually named to the Presidency ushers in a wave of fascism never before seen in this country and a revolution begins.
Through the protagonist, a middle class man named Doremus Jessup and his family, we witness the way a country falls apart- first, by losing the ability to communicate with those we love.
The relevance of this play can't be overlooked. Based on a novel written in the 1930's, this story shines a bright light on a recurring issue in America- an urge toward fascism. It Can't Happen Here explores what can happen if that urge comes to fruition, playing out in an eerily similar reflection of modern events.
Through the protagonist, a middle class man named Doremus Jessup and his family, we witness the way a country falls apart- first, by losing the ability to communicate with those we love.
The relevance of this play can't be overlooked. Based on a novel written in the 1930's, this story shines a bright light on a recurring issue in America- an urge toward fascism. It Can't Happen Here explores what can happen if that urge comes to fruition, playing out in an eerily similar reflection of modern events.
Broadway Under the Stars 2017
Another Opening, Another Show
Transcendence Theatre Company
Directed by Tony Gonzalez
Choreography - Jim Cooney
Costume Design - Ariel Allen
Lighting Design - Jeffrey Porter
Sound Design - Nils Erickson
Photography by Ray Mabry
Another Opening, Another Show was a celebration of the 10 years Transcendence Theatre has been working with the community of Sonoma, Ca, to bring Broadway across the country to Jack London State Park. Through Music, Dance and Story, we explored the journey of its founders and their mission to build a community focused enterprise that shares the joys of theatre and gives back.
Unrealized Designs
Alice in Wonderland
For this unrealized production of Alice in Wonderland, I wanted to emphasize diversity. This is a story deeply embedded in our popular culture, stylistically recognizable from a mile away: a blue dress, white pinafore and a black hairband evoke 'Alice' for people of all ages. With this in mind, I thought it would be a wonderful challenge for myself and my collaborator, a lighting designer, to design a color palette, lights, makeup and silhouettes that evoke the later Victorians, with a few design inspirations from other eras and African cultures.
We saw Alice as a girl leaving childhood behind, with one foot over the threshold into adulthood. It's a strange, mad time for any person to suddenly shift into a new world filled with new expectations, limits and definitions of who you must be. Our Wonderland is a place that exists just a step away from the world as Alice knows it, so my characters aren't hideous or obviously flawed in their outward design, which is representative of the world as it is. But the colors and patterns, the personal decoration of each character are all a little more vibrant, more bold than she may find in a realistic Victorian world.
We saw Alice as a girl leaving childhood behind, with one foot over the threshold into adulthood. It's a strange, mad time for any person to suddenly shift into a new world filled with new expectations, limits and definitions of who you must be. Our Wonderland is a place that exists just a step away from the world as Alice knows it, so my characters aren't hideous or obviously flawed in their outward design, which is representative of the world as it is. But the colors and patterns, the personal decoration of each character are all a little more vibrant, more bold than she may find in a realistic Victorian world.