FAC Theatre Company 2019–2020 Season

Pictured: Logan Riley Bruner as Christopher and the Company of “Curious Incident…” | Photo by Jeff Kearney 

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time was one of the most challenging and satisfying projects I have ever worked on. Chris Sheley’s set design was heavily influenced by his research into autism and how the autistic mind processes experiences. He created a world that made the audience feel like they were looking inside Christopher’s (the main character) brain. An element he and I worked closely on was ‘the nebula’. This was a scenic element that could reflect both Christopher’s emotions and reactions to the event happening around him as well as outer space (as thinking about space was of great comfort to him). This scenic piece was dubbed by the creative team ‘the nebula’, and its creation was a collaboration between all members of the design team and shop staff. The charge scenic Alyssa Washburn developed the cloud structure with various types of pillow fillers attached to a black netting. Scenic artist Sara Talaba and electrician Aidan Murphy wove miniature LED and conventional lights throughout the structure. Before and during technical rehearsals the design team developed a nebula language- specific ways of lighting it to help tell the story. An example of this was to flash and chase the miniature lights when Christopher was feeling stressed. Or, as pictured, like a nebula in outer space.” – Holly Anne Rawls, Lighting Designer

Pictured: Casey Fetters as Carrie | Photo by Jeff Kearney

“For our 4^th annual benefit concert in support of the FAC Theatre School, we chose Carrie for a multitude of reasons:  1.  We choose titles for our concert series that are shows we doubt we will give a full production for the foreseeable future; 2.  We look for work that can feature many of our current students and recent alumni; 3. We wanted to produce something for Halloween, and this cult classic fit the bill.  In the end, we received such a wonderful response for this iteration, I wish we HAD kept it running for more than the two performances that our contract allowed for.” – Scott RC Levy, Producing Artistic Director 

Pictured: Jennifer DeDominici as Francesca and Dieter Bierbauer as Robert | Photo by Jeff Kearney

“What drew me in initially to Bridges was, of course, the music.  The score is both grand and sweeping, almost overwhelming at times, but also delicate and simple.  My main intent was to create a grand, sweeping vista as our overall environment, while being able to iris-in on more delicate, intimate moments.  As a memory play, each element had to have specificity to it.  With this in mind, I wanted every element to be abstract—a glimmer of a memory of what was.  That’s why everything had the same architectural themes, and each set was built of existing elements in Francesca’s world.  Her immediate world of her kitchen was the only scenic element that was fully fleshed out.  Similarly, it was important to create a visual representation of the clashing of two worlds.  To me, Francesca, in her yellows and gold tones represented the earth—stable, grounded, part of the world around her.  Robert, in his shades of blue, represented the sky—what’s beyond, ephemeral, out of reach and yet all around us.” – Lex Liang, Scenic and Costume Designer

Pictured: The Company of Busytown | Photo by Jeff Kearney

 “Translating Richard Scarry’s beloved illustrations from the page to the background of a lively performance was a real treat. I cherished getting to know each character and their role in Busytown as they were chalked, painted, and outlined. When your day job includes making a pickle car with Bob Hill, Terri Harrison, and Mickey Burdick, life looks pretty good!” – Alyssa Washburn, FAC Charge Scenic Artist

Pictured: (left to right) Heidi Guzman, Allison Mickelson, Steven Emily, and Marisa Hebert | Photo by Jeff Kearney

“‘We are Sugar and Sugar is us.’ That was the beginning conceit for Tiny Beautiful Things. Director Christy Montour-Larson wanted an immersive, shared experience for the actors and audience. She felt the setting needed to be familiar, warm and comforting while allowing for multiple rooms to be viewed at once. To create this world on a small stage, I designed the walls of the set as black fabric…a little abstract, but it allowed for visual distance between locations. Then I sought to connect all of the locations (including the audience) with a skeleton of wooden beams and columns like that of a Craftsman bungalow. Add in Holly Rawl’s lighting and the audience was able to connect with individual performers or the entire cast on the set.” – Christopher L. Sheley, Scenic Designer

Pictured: (left to right) Jack English, Tracy Nicole Taylor, Heidi Guzman, and Colton Pratt | Photo by Jeff Kearney

“The thing that stuck with me the most about the show was the lesson about learning from loss or pain. Often in life the best lessons we learn come from experiencing loss, much like Edward learning about love through the loss of all the people he met. But if we let that loss consume us like Edward did at first, we often miss the lesson.” – Aidan Murphy, Lighting Designer