Emily Soussana is part of the creative team behind TNB’s upcoming production, A Brief History of the Maritimes and Everywhere Else.
Matt Carter
Projection and lighting designer Emily Soussana has some pretty exciting ideas for Theatre New Brunswick’s upcoming production, A Brief History of the Maritimes and Everywhere Else by Ryan Griffith.
The Montreal-based artist arrived in Fredericton last week for the start of the play’s rehearsal process. Joining actor Kevin Curran, director Natasha MacLellan and the rest of the creative team, Soussana will be developing her designs in the rehearsal studio over a three week period as the entire team works to bring Griffith’s story to life.
Set in a cabin in the woods during a typical New Brunswick snowstorm, the play focuses on the life story of one man and the many characters who have shaped his life. In true Griffith fashion, it’s a story that is both eerie and relatable.
“My approach to the projection design is really aimed at creating a world that has been hand crafted by the main character,” said Soussana. “I’ll be using stop motion film elements as we go deeper into his mind and his memories, making things look more or less like what the inside of his brain might look like in relation to what he’s thinking.”
Soussana is a graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada’s scenography program and recently spent time as a projection technologist at The Banff Centre, and her work has appeared on stages across central and western Canada.
Making her TNB debut with the world premiere production of Ryan Griffith’s latest play, Soussana is the first designer to introduce projection design to a production at the company’s Open Space Theatre.
“I’ll be starting with very minimalistic projections and as the character’s state begins to shift, I’ll be amping up the surreal elements within the video,” she said.
“As far as lighting goes, we’ll be using a lot of atmospheric lighting, lots of side light and back light. The set will present lots of interesting possibilities to create this very Cthulhu vibe.”
Although opening night is still a few weeks away, A Brief History of the Maritimes and Everywhere Else is shaping up to be TNB’s most popular Open Space Theatre production in the venue’s four season history with four of six Fredericton performances already sold out.
A Brief History of the Maritimes and Everywhere Else runs March 13-17 in Fredericton before hitting the road for performances in Bathurst, Florenceville-Bristol, Moncton, St. Andrews, Sackville and Saint John.
Full details are available at tnb.nb.ca
