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Kimie Nishikawa: Scenic Design


The scenic design process for You Will Get Sick was a challenging journey. Anything I put into the model seemed to undermine the isolation that the characters were experiencing. The more I tried to illustrate, the more heavy-handed it became. There were moments when I was completely lost. I usually have an idea, a rough scribble or a research image I base my models off of...but this called for a more organic process of making, responding, throwing away, rinse, repeat. The process involved several iterations of a half-inch scale model that took inspiration from urban landscapes of Tokyo and Agnes Denes' Wheatfield. It was important for the set to feel solid, overbearing, and cold, but also have a sense of mystery to it. You shouldn't quite know what the whole picture is.

Did I get to the best version of a visual landscape for this play? I still have no idea, but I certainly felt my heart rate rise when I finally made that center cube. I hope you enjoy what we made.

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Cha See: Lighting Design


You Will Get Sick
is a story about our relationship to our bodies, our relationship to family and friends, and our relationship to ourselves. It is a story about humans and how we navigate all the relationships’ nuances. It takes us through a journey of how one physical body changes over time.

My exploration with the design started with questions: who is the lighting design in relation to the characters? Is it part of the characters, or is it a witness? The answer is both: the lighting design is the emotionality of the very journey of Actor 1.

My investigation starts with angles and heightening the audience’s senses as they go on Actor 1’s journey. The lighting is like the nervous system of the play. As we unravel the reality of Actor 1’s situation (no spoiler) the light is exploding with colors, movement with accurate speed, and the play of different angles. I want the spectators to feel disoriented, like how we are disoriented when we don’t feel good physically, where our mental space is eventually affected. It is like you’re sick but you don’t know if you are actually sick.

Who are we when we are feeling great about our bodies and we know we are healthy? Who are we when we are feeling pain and see our bodies deteriorate?

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