Macbeth

When not ruminating on producing decisions, in my copious spare time I create lighting for theatre. ShakespeareNYC's production of Macbeth is currently running at The Beckett theater of NY's theatrerow. Despite a challenging production calendar, the show is up and looking pretty good. I wanted to share some images I have taken by Fight Choreographer and photographer, Al Foote.

Macbeth is one of my favorite plays in Shakespeare's cannon. Lighting can be created purely based on character point of view. And from there you can drive from a visual library of your own choosing. Lady Macbeth's drive to power and manipulation of her husband. Macbeth's desire to rule and his hubris, these are discussed intimately by the characters, and they can be displayed in the visual arc of the show.

As always for ShakespeareNYC, Macbeth was directed by Beverly Bullock. Her allowance for visual freedom and her fearless direction to me (it can be very dark), drove me to create a visual field of saturated color and deep contrast. While I would never call myself a designer based on subtlety, Macbeth allows for even more visual freedom. Brandon Giles set is a stark, blank canvas of floating material and black frames shaped in a flowing arc. This gave ultimate opportunity for freedom and creativity from scene to scene.



Here's some of that work.