Client: Peak Performances Montclair State University//Cryptic

Lighting Design for an exhilarating emotional and musical journey through multi-layered contemporary percussion music.

Inspired by Eduardo Galeano’s writings, including, “History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later’”, this emotionally staged music performance explores the juxtaposition of power, truth, corruption and desperation through the contrasting work of composers Peter Garland, David T. Little and Gavin Bryars.

Lighting, staging and visual design was tested and developed during a two-week residency at the Alexander Kasser Theatre.

Garland’s tender Apple Blossom reflects on the loss of innocence, laying the foundations for Little’s harrowing Haunt of Last Nightfall, which depicts the Salvadoran tragedy at El Mozote. The performance concludes with Bryars’ The Other Side of the River, which emulates the confusion arising from grief and the emergence of hope through reconciliation.

Live playing of the three powerful musical pieces is accompanied by a dynamic light show with high resolution lyrical projections on to gauze and screen. The multi-layered effect in the first and third pieces is curious and tranquil in contrast to the high energy, high paced lighting effects delivered during Haunt of Last Nightfall. The combined effect is an exhilarating emotional and musical journey.