Refrigerator (2018)
I created the video and projection design for the world premiere of Refrigerator, a play by Lucas Baisch, directed by Hutch Pimentel. This production ran May 13 - June 9, 2018, produced by First Floor Theater in Chicago, IL.
Eighty-two percent of the planet's people have dispensed with their physical bodies and uploaded their consciousnesses to IceBox in hopes of reaching a digital paradise. Some of the last employees of IceBox and Co. continue to provide transitional services for clients making the ascent. Benjamin has won the lottery, and as he spends his last day in the office, his coworkers battle with their own moral and socioeconomic inability to abandon their individual visions of reality - what it is and what it should be.
The offices of IceBox are run by Opus, an intelligent program that dictates the actions of the employees: rewarding and punishing behavior with the allotment of points, assigning tasks and break times, monitoring the ascension process, and making cryptic declarations. The physical presence of Opus was created through an original video design for three vintage computer monitors embedded into the set, with unique cues live-triggered throughout the performance. The final moment of the play also featured a projection of a hand (modeled by Briana Finegan) crashing through the ceiling and into the office.
Along with director Hutch Pimentel and playwright Lucas Baisch, this design was created in dialogue with scenic designer William Boles, sound designer Thomas Dixon, and properties designer Amanda Cantlin. Opus was operated by Assistant Stage Manager Anastarr Alvarez, and projection by Stage Manager Aaryanna Gariss. Technical Director Bobby Huggins, Production Manager Caitlin McCarthy, and FFT Director of Production Cole von Glahn assisted in the installation process.
This production featured performances by Nathaniel Andrew, Andrew Cutler, Shariba Rivers, Avi Roque, and Kevin Stangler, with understudies Elaine Bell, Jesse Massaro, and Kyla Norton. Refrigerator was originally commissioned by The Goodman Theatre as a part of the 2016-17 Playwrights Unit.