Silent Sky
by Lauren Gunderson
The Utah Shakespeare Festival 2024
Director: Melinda Pfundstein
Scenic Designer: Jo Winiarski
Costume Designer: David Kay Mickelsen
Lighting Designer: Tom Mays
Sound Designer: ien DeNio
Projections Designer: Joe Payne
Associate Projections Designer: Sophie Smrcka
“The play follows the true story of 19th Century scientist Henrietta Leavitt, whose breakthroughs in astronomy profoundly impacted the way we see the universe. Henrietta is torn between her family responsibilities and her soaring ambitions. Silent Sky is a celebration of science, female achievement, and family that shows us how one woman’s determination forever altered the course of scientific history.”
In a projection design that playwright Lauren Gunderson exclaimed as being the closest to her envisioned idea, Silent Sky illuminated the cosmos and the unseen histories embedded within it. Like astronomer Henrietta Leavitt’s painstaking observations that connected individual stars into measurable patterns, the projection design assembled fragments of sky, data, and silhouettes into a unified theatrical environment,. Still imagery supported the scenes, while transitions and introspective moments were filled with hyper colorized imagery, time lapses, and abstracted movement.
Jo Winiarski’s set allowed for layered projections in a beautiful way. The rig was 6 Epson 14,000 lumen laser projectors, one for the cyc, one for the front screen, two for the floor- from either side to minimize shadows, and two for the finale where we starred the entire theatre space. Playback was a new and exciting experience. I used Pixera for the first time. I was impressed by the capabilities.
Accepted into the USITT United States PQ27 exhibit. Prague Quadrennial (PQ) is the largest international event in the field of scenography, performance design and performance space. PQ is initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic and organized by the Czech Cultural Institute.
Also, this production is highlighted on AV Stumpfl’s Pixera website. See Article Here.
Photos by Karl Hugh