out the house in a more angular way, creating high contrast and longer shadows. Six months have passed, and the family is once again forced to come together to deal with their father who has suffered a stroke. It’s in Act II that we learn the secret agendas of each of the siblings and watch as the family unravels and the reality of the situation takes hold on them. Finally, as the play comes to its conclusion, Lou delivers his final speech, and the house takes on a surreal and expressionistic quality in complete contrast to the naturalistic light that has defined the space and story up until this point.


The primary challenge with designing the lighting for If I Forget is how to achieve these effects with a low ceiling height. To address this, I have collaborated with Derek McLane to create places throughout the set to hide very small lights to help carve out the rooms. The household lighting fixtures are all thoughtfully chosen and positioned to maximize the drama, as well as providing the major source of light for each of the scenes.


DAN MOSES SCHREIER—COMPOSER AND SOUND DESIGN


exception is the teenage character Joey. Teenage fads in clothing do still change rapidly, and we are likely to see the biggest differences in his costumes.


KEN POSNER—LIGHTING DESIGN When I first read If I Forget, I was very struck by how deeply the theme of honesty and truth in the context of sibling relationships kept bubbling to the top. There is a careful dance we do to manipulate our competing agendas within a family, all under the premise that we have what’s best in mind for everyone concerned. The strongest voice in the room wins the argument, but that voice can change and be influenced by outside forces, in this case the spouses of Lou’s children. The lighting reflects the undertone of each scene. In Act I, we meet the family in the hot muggy summer of 2000. Lou’s house is sealed tightly to keep in the air-conditioned cold, and the sunlight penetrates the house through blinds or sheer covered windows. The light is warm, revealing, and inviting. In Act II, as we delve deeper into the family's issues and secrets, the frozen winter morning light carves


When Daniel Sullivan asked me to compose music for If I Forget, the first question that I asked him was should the music look forward to the character Abby, the granddaughter, who is on a birthright tour of Israel in 2000, or look backward to Lou, the grandfather, who helped liberate the concentration camp at Dachau in 1945. I will be researching contemporary Israeli folk music in the year 2000 and will also look at traditional Jewish melodies of Eastern Europe as the basis for music I will be composing for the production. The character of Abby is never seen in the play, but there are times when the music can work as a symbol of her role in the production. The character Lou has important monologue at the end of the play where music can underscore the framing of that moment.


As for the sound design, a key “character” in the play is the television set that is heard in the background during many of the scenes. There will be times where that content of what is playing on the television will be important. Bernard Shaw, who was a news anchor for CNN, is mentioned in the play. There are also reference to the second “intifada.” These are keys to beginning to build the sound design for the play.•


IF I FORGET UPSTAGE GUIDE


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