Jane Eyre

Last spring, Annie Louie produced her take on the story of Jane Eyre through a mixture of movement and acting with actual text. The production in the spring contained sound, minimal sets and very minimal costumes and it did not contain any lighting design as it was produced in the Grotowski Barn.
Having never read nor seen the story of Jane Eyre, I went in to the production with a vague understanding that it was some sort of a love story (with conflicts) and not much else. When I stayed for the talk back that time, we discussed parts of the story that were missed and unclear to those who didn't know the story and even to some of those who were familiar with it. One of the scenes that was very unclear then was the fire scene. Many people found that they did not understand what was going on during that scene and because of that, they missed a vital point in the plot.
Annie Louie did a continuation of that story this quarter in the XMPL??? Theater in the new Contemporary Arts Center on campus. In this production, lighting design was available! (Not just lighting design, but phenomenal lighting design!) This time around, all the scenes that included fire were not only clear but extremely obvious and captivating! The lighting really enhanced the movement and other elements and the movement really correlated with the lighting. During this talk back, the clarity of this scene was no longer an issue. This is a great example as to how lighting in any show is not only beneficial but necessary for the audience to understand the story you are trying to tell or to at least make their own assumptions.

Dyana