Little Shop of Horrors lyrics and books by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken

Directed by Matthew Campbell
Scenic Design by
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Costume Design by Jenna Fawn Brown
Puppet Design and construction by Sherry Harper-McCombs

Little Shop of Horrors lyrics and books by Howard Ashman, music by Alan Menken
                                                                                                                                                           Dickinson College Spring 2022

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Scenic and Lighting Design by Kent Barrett

We are Pussy Riot or Everything is P.R. by Barbara Hammond
                                                                                        Dickinson College Fall 2019

Directed by Karie Miller
Scenic and Lighting Design by Kent Barrett
Hair and makeup design by Lissy Gold '20

Into the Woods book by James Lapine, music and lyrics by  Stephen Sondheim
                                                                      Greenbrier Valley Theatre, summer 2019

Directed by Courtney Susman
Scenic Design by Richard Crowell
Lighting Design by E Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Bill Frye

Our version of Into the Woods was rooted in a two-dimensional, illustration style.

Oh What a Lovely War by Joan Littlewood  Dickinson College Spring 2019

Directed by Karen  Kirkham
Scenic and Lighting Design by Kent Barrett

The Grapes of Wrath adapted by Frank Galati from the novel by John Steinbeck
                                                                                      Dickinson College, Fall 2017

Directed  by  Karen Kirkham
Scenic and  Lighting elements by Kent Barrett
Photos by Pierce Bounds

This work was conceived and performed at the Dickinson College Farm.

Big Love by Charles Mee    Dickinson College, Spring 2016

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Lighting and scenic design by Kent Barrett
Photos by  Pierce Bounds

Big Love is incredibly visual and the actors are very active in their costumes -- a challenging combination when the story calls for high fashion looks and multiple wedding dresses.

Research and sketches:

Production Photos:

Chicago music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse
                                                                                                                                                                        Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2015

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Music direction by Kermit Medsker
Choreography by Donald Laney
Scenic Design by Richard Crowell
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Valerie Colella and Valerie Pritt, courtesy of Greenbrier Valley Theatre

The Burial at Thebes by Seamus Heaney   Dickinson College, Spring 2014

Directed by Todd Wronski
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

In our production of Burial at Thebes we used the mask in various forms to represent the public face of characters within the play and were looking for a timeless feel with elements of Greco-roman.

The Man of La Mancha book by Dale Wasserman  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2014

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic design by Richard Crowell
Lighting design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Nathan Gwartney

The Man of La Mancha has the challenge of needing theatrical, storytelling pieces which are carried in to a prison. These pieces need to be lightweight, portable, and durable as well as visually interesting and integral to the storytelling.

A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau        Dickinson College, Fall 2013

Directed by Jon Liebetrau
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

This play is a lot of fun but has period costumes which see a great deal of physical action during the course of the farce.

The Foreigner by Larry Shue   Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2013

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic Design by Josh Robinson
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Nathan Gwartney

This play is set in the '80's and I was happy to find some fun t-shirts to set the time period and add some humor.

The Conference of the Birds by Peter Brook  Dickinson College, Spring 2013

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

This play is a storytelling piece based on a Sufi poem and we used many storytelling devices within it including puppetry and mask work.

Floyd Collins book by Tina Landau   Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2012

Directed by Suzannah Barryman
Scenic Design by Richard Crowell
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Philip Laughlin

Floyd Collins is an ensemble piece which centers around a man who is trapped in a cave. The set was a wonderful representation of the rugged Kentucky terrain but was physically challenging for the performers and our costume and particularly shoe choices had to take that in to account.

The Frugal Repast by Ron Hirsen  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2012

Directed by John Briggs
Scenic Design by Anita Tripathi
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
​Photos by Philip Laughlin

The impoverished circus performers depicted in Picasso's etching titled "The Frugal Repast" decide to steal the etching for ransom. We had to develop a look for our performing couple that matched the etching. This production also had a man playing the role of Gertrude Stein as well as multiple quick changes for one actress who played all of Picasso's many women in the piece.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare  Dickinson College, Fall  2011

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

Our version of Much Ado was envisioned as taking place in an environment that was like a playground with the director's idea being that these are young people who are in that stage of being not quite grown up but also not still children. We were able to work in some Renaissance touches in the party scene which was envisioned as a masquerade.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht  Dickinson College, Spring 2011

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

Our Chalk Circle was much more about the story, which is wonderful, than it was about Brecht, which is what many of Brecht's productions become. We had an ensemble playing many, many characters so we used hats as a character changing device. We ended up building over 70 hats for this production.

Lucky Stiff  book by Lynn Aherns  Dickinson College, Fall 2010

Directed by Todd Wronski
Lighting and scenic design by S. Benjamin Farrar
Photos by Pierce Bounds

Dickinson's Lucky Stiff was set in a different time period than is usual for the production. Normally this is set in the '80's but we set ours in the '60's with the idea being that the 1960's were the last time when travel was fun.

The Seafarer by Conor McPherson  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2009

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic Design by Anita Tripathi
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photo by Gary Cooper

The Seafarer is a Conor McPhearson piece so it has a dark and brooding quality. It is set in modern working class Ireland and has a modern version of Satan who appears as a character.

The Bridegroom of Blowing Rock by Catherine Trieschmann  
                                                                           Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2009

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic design by Richard Crowell
Lighting design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

Taking place in the mountains of North Carolina during the Civil War, Bridegroom is a piece that is about the destructive power of hatred and revenge that needs to have a gritty, historical accuracy to it.

Machinal by Sophie Treadwell         Dickinson College, Spring 2009

Directed by Karen Kirkham
Scenic design by Tijana Bjelajac
Lighting design by Jim Drake
Photos by Pierce Bounds

Our production of Machinal was inspired by expressionistic art and futurist fashion.

Urinetown book by Greg Kotis  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2007

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic design by Marc Sherrell
Lighting design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

Our Urinetown was a dystopia with clothing choices rooted in current clothing with some hints of the past.

Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2007

Directed by Kermit Medsker
Scenic design by Marc Sherrell
Lighting design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

This fun piece is about the creative team behind the movie Gone with the Wind creating the screenplay for the film.

The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2005

Directed by Cathey Sawyer
Scenic Design by Marc Sherrell
Lighting Desigh by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

Drawer Boy is a lovely piece that requires fairly modern (1970's/80's) costuming, but sensitive character choices.

The Sugar Bean Sisters by Nathan Sanders  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2005

Directed by Lee Blair
Scenic Design by Marc Sherrell
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

Sugar Bean Sisters is a sort of Southern Gothic piece that has aliens, snake charmers, and, ultimately, spontaneous combustion that takes place in an outhouse.

Noises Off! by Michael Frayn  Greenbrier Valley Theatre, Summer 2005

Directed by Chuck Kartali
Scenic Design by Marc Sherrell
Lighting Design by E. Tonry Lathroum
Photos by Gary Cooper

I thought about putting this in the seriously silly costumes section but think that part of the trick with Noises Off is that much of the humor comes from the fact that these actors take themselves so seriously so the costume choices need to have some seriousness to them. But we did have a trick toupee.