Lindsey Lyddan Design

American Dead

Our production of The American Dead dealt with real people in the real world where life is not fair.  The lighting of this piece was fragmented and highlighted things from Louis’ skewed perspective.  The space felt and looked like a place forgotten.  It’s past unknown.  Reality was put into question with a low yet bright light, which threw shadows steeply onto the walls. We drifted with Louis through his everyday life.  The bar, Doug and Lisa’s yard proved friendly warmly lit, the spaces seemed more open and inviting.  While the abandoned seed store and school instilled Louis’ detachment from realty, where he spoke to the dead.  Each transition illuminated a large graffiti figure, which acted as the backdrop, not only literally but also in the sense that he was Louis, permanently scared, mangled, and imprinted on the wall of the grocery store.  It was with the flick of a switch that we were there.  We were all along.  We just couldn’t see it. The setting and lighting of this piece made this show more than just a story.  It connected us as the audience further into the world of the show.  It placed us there in the concrete realty of The American Dead.