"Passage" is described by the Cleveland Play House as "Country X is dominated by Country Y. A friendship between two people is challenged in this climate of fear and distrust leading to an explosive accusation. A fantasia inspired by E.M. Forster’s "A Passage to India," writer Christopher Chen creates a suspenseful story about the challenges of true connection."
Park shares his insight on the lighting design concept for "Passage:"
I paid attention to the social class, colonial view, time, and space in the play "Passage." The beginning of Act 1 and the end of Act 2 portray a mythical space as a bare stage. Scenes that stood out to me were the temple scene and the cave scene, both providing good material to show my ability as a lighting designer. With the scenic being fixed and almost unchanged, the psychological changes of the character in the explanation of the space were all up to the lighting designer. I used space to explain the place with specific gobo (sunlight shining through leaves or pillars) and to support the psychological aspect by use of contrasting colors.
Lighting plays a unique role to show the passage of time and the blending of one scene to another. For example, in the case of lawn bowling, the lighting was designed to portray the passing of time from noon to late afternoon. This technique of subtle light changes may not make the audience realize that the lighting is changing, yet they identify with the time of day. The process took about 10 minutes and the lighting changes naturally.
Jaemin Park has been working as a lighting designer in South Korea for about 15 years. He has designed more than 100 productions in various genres such as plays, musicals, operas, and dances. While he was in South Korea he worked as a full-time lighting supervisor and resident designer in a national theatre with about 1,200 seats in Daegu, South Korea. His unique background in studying vocal music during his undergraduate courses has given him a keen ear for analyzing and expressing music. He has been directing in opera and loves musical works. Based on his experience in South Korea, he is in his last semester MFA in lighting design in the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. In June, 2022 he will be designing the musical "Little Shop of Horrors" at Porthouse Theatre in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
"Passage" continues through April 2, 2022. To purchase tickets online, see https://tickets.clevelandplayhouse.com/
Learn more about Jaemin Park and his work at www.jparkbest.com
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Media Contact:
Joni Koneval, 330-672-0116, jkoneval@kent.edu