THE STONEWATER
RAPTURE
Photo Credits: Grant Abbott
"Set on the front porch and in the living room of a conservative Texas home, the play tells the story of two teenagers whose sexual awakening has been severely hampered by the fundamentalist fervor that runs like power lines through the Bible Belt. The characters, Carlyle and Whitney, struggle to wed their simplistic religious doctrine with the often painful complexity of the real world." - From Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
Director: Jim Bray
Stage Manager: Danielle Holloway
Scenic Designer: Amanda Nerby
Lighting Designer: Cory Sprinkles
Costume Designer: Abigail Hartline
TD: Chris Seifert
Movement: Abby Morris/Jim Bray
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Sound Designer: Courtney Jean
Photo Credits: Grant Abbott
Our production was performed in a Blackbox Theater with a somewhat minimal set design, in order to distinguish between the outdoor setting and the indoor one, I used a nighttime ambiance that was played when the characters were supposed to be outside.
It was important for this cue to sound like something from a more rural area rather than that of a city, so it excludes sounds like cars and instead uses more calm insect noises.
As a bridge between the first and second act, a dance piece was choreographed to allude to Carlyse's rape.
The music piece was constructed using a mix of Alleluia by Eric Whitacre and Agnus Dei by Samuel Barber. Combining the two pieces made for a haunting choir piece. In adding a foreboding sound string piece at around 2 minutes in, the dance piece takes a darker turn and the circumstances which the dancers are in becomes more threatening.
The choice of using hymnal sounding music was purposeful with the setting of the play being in the bible belt.
Photo Credits: Grant Abbott
The "final cue" is a kind of reprise of the dance piece. The tone being somewhat more hopeful than the dance piece.
As Whitney agrees to Carlyse's final plan of being together despite all the circumstances that have made this lives hell, this piece plays. Things aren't necessarily okay, but there's a hope they can get through it together.