Sideways Stories from Wayside School

This production was my first main stage design and was Southwestern University's only Theatre for Young Audiences piece of the season. Because this show was a Theatre for Young Audiences piece, I was presented with the challenge of making it friendly for children as young as five. One of the ways I succeeded in doing this was providing blueouts during transitions rather than blackouts. This minimized the amount of moments that the children would be left in darkness. 

The set and costumes were all very bold and vibrant. It was very interesting to work with such a large color palette. I enjoyed being able to make the set and costumes pop as well as making them change color before the audience's eyes. Adding this element of magic helped to keep our young audience members engaged in the world of the play. 

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An interesting element of my design for this show was the mirror ball. It was lowered in several times throughout the show for fun dance moments. As this production took place in a thrust theater, the tiny balls of light created by the mirror ball flew all over the audience while creating capricious movement on stage. It always surprised and excited the young audience.