Everybody | CalArts | 2023

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Everybody is a radical retelling of Everyman, and follows the journey of a human preparing for the grave. It is the story of how we all might face judgment when it’s time to answer the question: “How did you choose to live your life?”. The meta-theatrical experience delves into the discovery of body image, race, friendship, and social responsibilities. As Everybody is preparing to die, they learn that the only thing you have in life and death is yourself. We wanted the audience to leave feeling empowered to be kind to themselves and others with the time we are given.

My lighting goals for the production were to create 3 distinct spaces to delineate the three types of scenes in the play; external emotings, internal thought, and Everybody's deathbed. All of these scenes exist in the theatre, but also emulate that of a television studio. The director, Damian Lewis, wanted to create a space for heightened emotion and archetypal characters. 

To achieve this, I developed a plot that juxtaposed harsh, vertical, overhead "studio" lighting with horizontal beams to separate Everybody's internal thoughts from their external emotings with Friendship, Family, & Stuff. In collaboration with the scenic designer, I was able to incorporate equipment behind the set, in order to break apart the theatre and the scenic structures when Everybody's grave was revealed. We wanted to ground the idea that Everybody was dying in this theatre, directly in front of us.