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By Bert V. Royal
Directed by Michelle Seaton
Scenic Design: Gregory Pulver
When CB’s dog dies from rabies, CB begins to question the existence of an afterlife. His best friend is too burnt out to provide any coherent speculation; his sister has gone goth; his ex-girlfriend has recently been institutionalized; and his other friends are too inebriated to give him any sort of solace. But a chance meeting with an artistic kid, the target of this group’s bullying, offers CB a peace of mind and sets in motion a friendship that will push teen angst to the very limits. Drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity collide and careen toward an ending that’s both haunting and hopeful.
University of Portland
Fall | 2018
By Lucas Hnath
Directed by Tim Wagoner
Twenty years ago, Pastor Paul's church was nothing more than a modest storefront. Now he presides over a congregation of thousands, with classrooms for Sunday School, a coffee shop in the lobby, and a baptismal font as big as a swimming pool. Today should be a day of celebration. But Paul is about to preach a sermon that will shake the foundations of his church's belief. A big-little play about faith in America—and the trouble with changing your mind.
Constraints in time, budget and work hours, I focused this design on the symbol and power of the words that Pastor Paul stands by and the dominant feature in almost every Evangelical church - the cross. I designed it to be a light box to slowly change color and intensity as the play progressed.
Bag and Baggage
Spring | 2009
By Oscar Wilde
Directed by Scott Palmer
My first show at Bag & Baggage Theatre in a theater space that measured 27 feet high, 40 feet wide and only 20 feet deep - it was an old movie house. Our concept was 1920’s Hollywood, so I approached this space as a tall sound stage using glass shelving and white furniture. The gossamer fabric was manipulated differently for each act. Books were added for Act III for the library scene.
A multi-gendered cast, I designed the costumes to be the epitome of a 1920’s archetypical movie. Cocktails were in every scene.
Bag and Baggage
Spring | 2012
By Christopher Hampton
Directed by Patrick Spike
A tale of seduction set in France among aristocrats before the revolution, this is a classic drama for exploring decadent sexuality, morals, and manipulation played as the ultimate game, with tragic results.
A second time at this play - I decided to focus on the original novel and the letters/correspondence as my guide to the design. Working with the director, we found the most poignant passages in the play/book and had the french script painted as back drop to the play. The stage was also created and painted as 3 wax sealed letters from the period.
This theater space was 27 feet high, 40 feet wide and only 20 feet deep - it was an old movie house - so the challenge was to get this play as intimate as possible to the audience. I created 3 thrust platforms over the house seats. Low furniture was also a must in this configuration. My costume design, executed by an assistant, was an amalgamation of period and contemporary lingerie, which again pushed the intimacy and sexual nature of this production.
Bag and Baggage
Spring | 2012
By Joe Carlaco
Directed by Jennifer Dick
Four young prep school students, tired of going through the usual drill of conjugating Latin and other tedious school routines, decide to vary their very governed lives. After school, one breaks out a copy of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and they all take turns reading the play aloud. The Bard’s words and the story itself are thrilling to the boys, and they become swept away, enmeshed in the emotion so much so that they break school rules in order to continue their readings. The rigidity of their lives begins to parallel the lives of the characters in the play: roles in the family, roles in society, and the roles played by men and women soon seem to make all the sense in the world, and then, suddenly, they seem to make no sense at all. Although they had been taking turns playing all the parts, two eventually emerge playing Romeo and Juliet exclusively, bringing a whole new dimension to the proceedings. Perceptions and understanding are turned upside-down as the fun of play-acting turns serious, and the words and meanings begin to hit home and universal truths emerge.
Because this play is so rich in story and meaning I decided to reduce the stage down to only the necessary - a hideaway, a steeple window and a wood floor. Again here at Bag & Baggage with it’s high and wide stage, I raked the floor for better sight lines and a more intimate feeling. The window was also a light box giving a sense of day light into night until a very dramatic moment when the light turns a deep and forbidding red.
Bag and Baggage
Summer | 2009
By William Shakespeare
Adaptation and Directed by Scott Palmer
The challenge of the play was to turn the Hillsboro Civic Center Courtyard into a theater space for every performance. Designing both sets and costumes we approached this play as a “goth/contemporary” setting. Black and with with a touch of red was key to the color scheme for both sets and costumes. I stretched huge length of fabric in and around the bollards and structures of the courtyard to create a backdrop and change the flow of the space.
Western Washington University
Fall | 2006
By Edward Albee
Directed by Gregory Pulver
George, a professor at a small college, and his wife, Martha, have just returned home, drunk from a Saturday night party. Martha announces, amidst general profanity, that she has invited a young couple—an opportunistic new professor at the college and his shatteringly naïve new bride—to stop by for a nightcap. When they arrive the charade begins. The drinks flow and suddenly inhibitions melt. It becomes clear that Martha is determined to seduce the young professor, and George couldn't care less. But underneath the edgy banter, which is crossfired between both couples, lurks an undercurrent of tragedy and despair.
As the director and scenic designer of this production I wanted to focus on this tragic story that happens over and over again in the world of the characters. The set was designed as an alley configuration so that the action and banter bounced back and forth like a tennis match. The walls of the house had been “shouted away” for eons and all that remained was the broken and floating picture rail and a few windows. The windows were hung in strategic places so that where ever the audience looked, or looked away, the action of the play was reflected in the windows…there was no escaping this tragedy.
Western Washington University
Summer | 2008
Based on the comic strip “PEANUTS” by Charles M. Schulz
Book by Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates,
Warren Lockhart, Arthur Whitelaw and Michael L. Grace
Music by Larry Grossman
Lyrics by Hal Hackady
Directed by Gregory Pulver
SNOOPY!!! – the musical sequel to YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN – deserves each of its three exclamation points. Based on the beloved Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schulz, the show sparkles with wit and warmth as it depicts life as seen through the eyes of Schulz’s unforgettable characters.
My third shot at this delightful musical I wanted to design a set that paid homage to Charles Schultz and his wonderful illustrations, so I made the set look like a pop-up book from the Peanuts series.