J. Marc Quattlebaum

The director really wanted an immersive environment that had a feel of Alphabet City in the early 1990s. We explored the idea of fragmenting the space to create multipurpose areas that functioned as multiple locations with layers of lights and textures that felt collage like. The primary areas included the fire escape, stoop, and tent city.

For RENT, we really wanted to expose as much of the Meadows Black Box Theatre as possible. The room was stripped of all soft goods, and the set was pushed in from the walls, leaving clearance for actors to cross. Most of these crosses were technically visible, but thanks to the immersive quality of the show - they were never the focal point.

The passerelle idea worked to help immerse the audience, and provide access points to and from the fire escape without traveling across the deck. The platform at the end of the passerelle acted as a nebulous flex space allowing for interesting perches during songs, and intimate moments between Collins and Angel among others.