Wealth & Hellness | CalArts | 2023

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Wealth & Hellness is a new play set in an affluent coastal Californian community. It follows the story of a fractured family, struggling real estate agents, an outsider, and a wellness influencer. This loose adaptation of The Little Mermaid reflects on Arieli’s cry to be “part of that world” at the cost of buying into the wealth, class, and access historically pertaining to the Southern California coast. Constructed in a dramatic style that draws on reality TV, it tells a story of romance, surfing, race cars, and real estate. This story, which pits wealth against authenticity, forces us to reflect on the land in which we reside and who truly owns it.

My lighting goals for the production were to bring the natural and highly directional California sun into the windows of our space. The play happens over the course of a single day, and the light of this play mimics the movement of the sun from its rise to its fall, reflecting the journey of these characters. As a team, we were interested in drawing from our own lived experience as Californians (both transplants and natives), and how those experiences shape the way we interact with the world around us.

To achieve this, I developed a plot that allowed for sharp, directional sunlight through the many apertures of the set. This sharpness created some dynamic and natural shadows that reinforced the intense SoCal sun. As the play progressed, the movement of the day was created through everchanging angles and colors. As we dip into night, the energy shifted upstage, to push the action towards the audience and draw us into the chaotic finale.