Photo of an early color model lit by Sam
The second recording for Assistant and ME is mostly the sign-off because my internet shut off and I had to find my way back into the Zoom. Thus, two recordings because I’m not fancy and didn’t splice them together like the cool kids.
And in this Squad Pod update, Team Lighting!! I had the pleasure of sitting down with Sam (lighting designer for Little Shop) as well as his assistant Kelly and the master electrician Jacob. I had a wonderful time chatting with this bunch of talented artists and I have no doubt you will be as charmed and delighted by them as me.
Sam is going into his third year at UConn, and at the time of Little Shop he was a second year. In the time since he came to the university, he and I developed a solid collaborative rhythm. The first show we worked on was Henry IV: Parts 1 and 2 which was the last show in the 2018-19 regular season at CRT. Sam and I found that we really enjoyed collaborating together, and he turned me on to some summer opportunities where we got a chance to work together again. I could not have been more pleased that he was assigned to Little Shop because having that established collaborative trust with the lighting designer is huge. I say it in the interview and I will emphasize here; lighting designers are instrumental in determining how you perceive everything onstage. You can work as hard as you want on making the physical elements look a certain way with treatments. However, it’s the way the light interacts with that element that is actually going to determine how the eye actually interprets the information. This is why a good working relationship with the lighting designer is key.
Sam and I had the chance to communicate a lot during the development of the scenery, and especially with Little Shop, that was so crucial considering how much lighting was integrated into the set through practicals and other additions. Sam and I have styles that tend to compliment each other; we both like bold graphic choices with a strong emphasis on color choice and layering. He has a way of using light to emphasize or soften details within the world and I think I subconsciously respond to that by trying to make sure the pieces onstage have depth and detail that he can play with. Alas, Little Shop didn’t get to the point where Sam really got to let loose and play. I hope he gets another crack at Little Shop in the future; who knows, maybe we’ll get to see it through on the same production. Obviously I have a lot of professional respect for this person, and I would highly encourage you to check out his well fed portfolio and body of work at SJB Lighting Design.
Lighting Designer in the wild
Early color model lit by Sam, scene is for the song “Skid Row”
Early color model lit by Sam (yes we like blue it’s a great color!)
A stage shot from Henry IV: Parts 1&2, we utilized the lighting fixtures as part of the built world, combined with large fabric elements and prop pieces. We had so much fun with this.
Henry IV: 1&2
A shot from Matilda which Sam and I worked together on this past summer
Another shot from Matilda
The next chat is with one of Sam’s assistants, Kelly, and the master electrician Jacob. I wanted to talk to both of these individuals not only because they’re lovely people, but I think the things they do to further the process often goes under the radar. Despite the fact that we didn’t get to production, the role these two were going to play in that process was key, and I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight that. Both of these individuals are really cool people and excellent artists. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kelly in the paint shop for the last few years, and she is certainly a person of many talents who easily moves back and forth between lighting and scenery with ease. Jacob is also similar in that regard. I had the joy of getting to share lab space with him for a year, as well as taking multiple scenic design classes which he also took. Having seen his work there and enjoying his company on many group excursions to see outside performances (from Broadway, to CT, to Boston!), I can say with confidence that he’s a fantastic individual and I can’t wait to work with him further in the future. Please take a moment to check out their work; Kelly’s is at kdaineault00 and Jacob is at Jacob-sikorski.com
Assistant Lighting Designer, Kelly
Since I unfortunately don’t have a picture of Kelly and I for Little Shop, thought I’d share some fun shots of us working on this ridiculous and beautiful drop that we helped paint for CRT’s production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (design of the drop by Alexander Woodward (scenic designer) and shop managed by charge artist Daniela Weiser).
A zoom out of the drop in progress (Kelly is the seated figure on the left)
Pic of the final drop. Kelly definitely put in a lot of hours on this bad boy.
Master Electrician, Jacob
Again, I’m afraid I don’t have pictures of work we’ve done together, but Jacob and I definitely saw some awesome theatre together. He’s always game for a theatre adventure. This is from when a group of us went to see The Sound Inside on Broadway.
Lots of fun friends from the Little Shop crew in this pic!! This is when we went to see On the Grounds of Belonging when is was at the Longwharf theatre.
And look at all the Little Shop all stars here again! This is when we went to see a production of Rocky Horror Picture Show out in MA (Sam was the lighting designer for that production as well)
Disclaimers Clarifications and Corrections: This audio is all recorded in one take over Zoom with no editing. Thus, the sound quality is about what you’d expect in that circumstance, so I’d ask that you listen with that in mind. In Sam’s chat, I make specific mention of my personal feelings about the show Carousel. I used that show as an example not because I think everyone shares my opinion on the matter, but because I personally struggle with my thoughts on that show and was sharing from that vantage. This is a chat between a couple colleagues and shouldn’t be interpreted as declarative on anything as the “only right” way of perceiving the world and our craft.