Everybody
by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
Studio 88 Theatre
Miami University • October 2024
Directed by Lindsey Mercer
Lighting Design by Shane Werthaiser
Costume Design by Meggan Peters
Projection Design by Ben Trader
Jacobs-Jenkins contemporary take on the medieval morality play Everyman has no boundaries. An “usher” begins the play with a traditional pre-show address. When she morphs into “God” the speech becomes a set of instructions on how, since this is a play about the shared humanity of everyone in the theatre, the actors would be coming from the audience itself and roles would be assigned randomly.
We had to ask ourselves, “where does this play really take place?” The characters go on a journey to the grave. The meta nature of the play allows freedom from specific locations. In early meetings we looked at many examples of liminal spaces. The flexible space of Studio 88 theatre seemed very conducive to this approach. In any configuration, actor plants in the audience could have easy access to the stage. And in thrust or arena staging, the “rea;” audience couldn’t help but feel part of the action.
The only physical element needed was the grave, which had to be a structure that could somehow be entered into. I started modeling ideas that built up the floor high enough to create a trap or that lead to a structure that could be “opened”
The overhead panels are part of our “liminal space” research. Ceilings and lighting elements helped define geometry of these spaces, and add to the weight of the space. Lindsey definitely wanted to make what was already a a low ceiling just a little more oppressive. We’d even talked about how ceiling panels might raise or lower over the course of the play. An amazing idea that wasn’t particularly feasible with our resources.
These ideas started us brainstorming ideas to better address the grave. We looked again at the whole of the theatre. Under the control booth on the south end of the theatre, there’s a short by spacious closet where we store the chairs for the theatre. If we set up in a stadium configuration, we could create one wall-to-wall pathway along the north-south axis. The closet itself could act as the grave
On the south end, a tall wall blocked the closet doors to keep the element of surprise for the grave moment. The actors pushed the wall aside, revealing the doors. Death opened the doors to a fog-filled, backlit space the actors could disappear into. We never saw the concrete walls of the space itself.
On the north end, a short wall actors could sit on.
The Renderworks models shown here are part of my continuing dive into 3D modeling. It is only third time I’ve incorporated lighting effects into a model.