VERY BLUE LIGHT
Written BY DAPHNE SILBIGER
UT NEW THEATRE FESTIVAL 2023
ABOUT THE PLAY
Marfa, TX, 2022--Magna was likely abducted by aliens, but her friends don't believe her. She seeks out the fabled Marfa Lights hoping for answers, and discovers that the secrets of the cosmos are both monumentally far-reaching and disarmingly mundane. Very Blue Light is a play about isolation and doubt, revising relationships, and the implications of the existence of unidentified aerial phenomena.
PRODUCTION PROCESS EXAMPLES
SCENIC JOURNEY
Take a peek inside the director & designer’s collaborative process
The images in this slideshow present a glimpse into the journey that associate scenic designer Daniel Ruiz Bustos and I went on to bring the world of Very Blue Light to life. From mood boards and research to six iterations of the scenic design, we worked closely together to make sure that the scenic design uplifted and embodied the world of the play for the audience.
The initial research and proposals for the design were abstract, and the direction of the play, based on my vision, needed a grounding in a recognizable and realistic world, while also allowing the audience to understand the added scale of the universe and extraterrestrial possibility. We wanted to scenic design to create both a “zoomed in” feeling of everyday mundanity, and also a “zoomed out” feeling of our smallness in the vast scale of the universe. In the end, we achieved this through Daniel’s design, and through Heekyung Kim’s beautiful projections.
GRAPHIC DESIGN & PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS
Together with playwright Daphne Silbiger and dramaturg Malena Pennycook, we created an initiative to bring audience members into the world of the Marfa lights - a printed zine that was distributed in the theatre prior to the performance.
Based on the design style of the zine (compiled and illustrated by Daphne Silbiger,) I worked with visual artist Hingis Chang to develop a show poster in the same style, providing inspiration imagery and direction for the look and feel of the poster.
CREATIVE PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Kristen Osborn
Cast:
Ozma Darling
Angel Hernandez
Hal Cosentino
Mateo Hernandez
Scenic Designer: Tere Guerrero, Associate Daniel Ruiz-Bustos
Lighting Designer: Stephen Pruitt
Projection Designer: Heekyung Kim
Sound Designer & Composer: Dillon James
Costume Designer: Jacob Benaim
Intimacy Director: Andy Grapko
Dramaturg: Malena Pennycook
Assistant Directors: Avery Brooks, Yobany Pizano
Stage Manager: Emma Winder
ASMs: Kayla Alonso & Rylee Vines