what is a duckworth?: February 2015

Monday, February 02, 2015

Designs for Opera Memphis' Hansel and Gretel

I recently finished working on a really fun project with Opera Memphis in which I designed the sets for their production of Hansel and Gretel. Everything was digitally projected onto three huge screens, with the exception of a few very minimal physical props. This approach allowed me to complete the illustrations at a small scale, and then those same paintings were projected onto the screens.

(click pictures to enlarge)

show curtain

Hansel and Gretel's house

Using digital projections allowed for some unique and fun effects, such as the forest scrolling across the three screens as the performers wandered through it. There were also spooky glowing eyes that appeared and disappeared in the night forest, and the witch's house grew as Hansel and Gretel approached it and then disintegrated at the end when she was defeated.

I also designed costumes for the Witch, Sandman, and Dewfairy.

This was my first time doing a project of this nature and I absolutely loved it. I enjoy working collaboratively with artists of different fields and it was super thrilling to see my illustrations life-sized and part of something so great. I mean, really, a fairytale opera? What could be more perfect for me? Everyone at Opera Memphis was a real pleasure to work with and they did a fabulous job on the production. Thanks guys!

(performance photos all courtesy of Opera Memphis)