In 1992, Wendell K. Harrington, now known as the “godmother of modern projection design” created the projections for the Broadway production of The Who’s Tommy; her design, which required 54 rear-mounted slide projectors that transformed the set into the inside of a pinball machine, made projection design part of the theatrical conversation. In 2007, United Scenic Artists Local 829, the union for scenic artists, recognized projection designers as a membership category. The following year, the Drama Desk created the award for Best Projection Design; today, the Outer Critics Circle Awards also recognize projection design, though the Tony Awards®


do not. CASE STUDY SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE


Sunday in the Park with George, a musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, tells a fictional version of the story of real painter Georges Seurat. The 2008 Roundabout production directed by Sam Buntrock (a transfer from the Menier Chocolate Factory in London) featured 3-D animation of Seurat’s most famous painting coming together, created by Projection Designers Timothy Bird and the Knifedge Creative Network.


Daniel Evans All production photos by Joan Marcus The Company of Sunday in the Park with George


The field is so new that designers working today are defining the practice and articulating the language of projection design right now. “Projection technology advances at an unbelievable speed, and projectors are becoming brighter and more versatile all the time,” Morris said. “Projection design as a field is looking brighter because it is being adopted by more and more theatres across the country. Ten years ago there were probably 25 people in the United States working as full-time projection designers. Now there are many times that number, and there's room for growth!”•


CASE STUDY KINGDOM COME


Kingdom Come, a play by Jenny Rachel Weiner, tells the story of two women who develop a relationship online while pretending to be other people. The 2016 Roundabout production featured projection design by Darrel Maloney. Maloney’s designs both brought the women’s online world into literal view of the audience and reflected the characters’ changing emotions and connection. One example of that: “When the relationship becomes more intimate, the quality of the text we see projected subtly transforms and softens to simulate the psychological intimacy these two are developing,” Maloney said.


Carmen M. Herlihy and Crystal Finn


Crystal Finn


Carmen M. Herlihy DARLING GRENADINE UPSTAGE GUIDE 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24