BEHIND THE DESIGN:
SILENT SKY
The story of Henrietta Swan Leavitt, an American astronomer known for her discovery of the relationship between period and luminosity in the Cepheid variables, pulsating stars that vary regularly in brightness in periods ranging from a few days to several months, is something quite lost to history. Women in STEM have traditionally been stigmatized, oppressed, and misunderstood due to the lack of representation in leadership in science fields. Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson seeks to recover the story of Henrietta and her immaculate discoveries that have been covered up and deemed unimportant in American history.
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Within my design, it became imperative that all technical elements needed to coexist in the same place: within the mind of Henrietta herself. Taking inspiration from the story, I partnered with the projection and sound designers to collaborate on a more all-encompassing design. The goal was to create the story as one large design rather than three separate ones, but still holding onto our individual intentions of capturing the storytelling Gunderson created. Through OSC, a protocol for connecting computers, synthesizers and multimedia systems over a single network (similar to MIDI), we were able to have lighting and projection cues running simultaneously with specific beats or notes within the music itself, making all of the designs "speak" to one another at the exact same time.
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A problem stemming from the utilization of projections was the obvious: light leak washing out the intensity of any projected content. This was avoided using specials both from steeper angles on the catwalks and on the first electric. While these angles caused rather harsh under-eye shadows, we were also able to hit the front of the actors with a "gentle kiss" of frontlight to balance out any harsh raccoon-eyes in the process. The angling of lights on the catwalks benefitted the overall look as well, as there were two 3D, moveable platforms that would rotate downstage and upstage with a projection screen on it that needed to be seen clearly. With the angles created from the catwalks, and the help of shuttercuts, the lighting was able to still capture my original intent, while also honoring the work and intention of the projections designer.
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Other inspiration within the design, specifically for color palettes for lighting and projection, came from the exact thing Henrietta was discovering: nebulae, novae, and the Cephid variables themselves. The palettes ended up with variations of deep blues, purples, oranges, and pinks, but had to be deliberately chosen due to the set itself being painted a bright green, making gel decisions a challenge throughout the beginning stages of the process. Utilizing a cool and warm front wash that derived from a blue base or undertone was the key to getting an overall balanced front wash that didn't challenge or diminish the quality of the overall set.
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The usage of manually-created LED effects allowed for the movement of transition lighting to be reminiscent to that of the universe from space: slow, methodic, and full of varying colors and saturations, all while also being influenced by Henrietta. As the emotions shifted within Henrietta's mind, so did the lighting -- allowing for the transition in mood to be expressed in a more approachable way by the audience.
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Another piece of this rather large puzzle was the influence that Henrietta's Cephid discovery had on the technical elements through the duration of Act One. In the beginning of her finding the Cephids, the downlights themselves would pulsate slowly, as she was getting closer to understanding what they all meant. In the grand moment before Intermission, Henrietta discovers the pulsing of the stars to be similar to music in their purpose, driving home the idea that they could help astronomers locate just how far away the stars were based on their pulsation rate. At this moment in the show, this grand discovery, the downs pulsate orange, gradually getting faster, until they completely stop and shift to a stoic, royal purple, indicating that Henrietta had finally figured out what it all meant.