In The Walls
Details
Name: In The Walls
My Role: Lighting Designer
Performed: 16th May 2022
Made For: University of York Drama Society (DramaSoc)
"Scritch scratch. Scritch scratch. The sound is driving Eleanor up the wall. The walls. It’s coming from the walls. When mice infest a home, they stick to the darkest corners, air ducts, crawl spaces. They make themselves invisible, unlike Eleanor’s new neighbour Chris who seems a little too interested in the issue. Why is her landlord Robert so against there being rodents? Is she going crazy? But most importantly, does Chris like her back?"
~ Official Description for 'In The Walls'
As part of my third term at the University of York, I decided that I wanted to take part in the technical side of a production. After assessing the shows and what roles were available for application, I eventually settled on this student-written piece, In The Walls.
In The Walls follows Eleanor, a tenant in a block of flats who becomes convinced that there are rodents living in her walls. The play had the scene setting of a classic romantic comedy, but turned out to be so much more!
As lighting designer, it was my job to communicate location and mood through the Drama Barn's lighting setup. One piece of design I was given to use was the concept of using red and blue lighting to communicate the location within the two different flats: blue for Eleanor's flat, and red for Chris'. I then had free reign to bring my own ideas into the mix, namely that of purple lighting that was utilised for the more mysterious, unhinged moments in the performance. Strobe lighting was also implemented at key moments to build tension, and was also used during the transitions between scenes.
Overall, I had loads of fun working on this small-scale production. This was my first time working on one of DramaSoc's 'Open Drama Night' performances - so the short 4-hour window to set up all the tech needed for the show was definitely a far step from the 5-day production week that I am more accustomed to! Despite this, the process was actually very relaxing, and definitely something I will be looking to do again sometime!
Photo Credits: Gill Yue
