KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Nov. 30, 2021 \u2013 As a first-year student, Audrey Visscher knew she wanted to try on as many hats in theatre as possible. So, she made a list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Midway through her senior year at the 溏心vlog免费B站, Visscher has checked off a play program\u2019s worth of jobs. Even with the pandemic reducing the number of 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre productions, she\u2019s worked as crew, costume crew, painter, light board and sound board operator, sound designer, house manager, assistant director, director \u2013 to name a few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really like being a part of every show we put on here at 溏心vlog免费B站, in any capacity,\u201d says Visscher, a theatre and film media major from Piscataway, New Jersey<\/strong>. \u201cI\u2019m working to have as many different roles on productions as I can before I graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This fall, Visscher\u2019s list got a major checkmark when she was selected as lighting designer for Lauren Gunderson\u2019s \u201cSilent Sky,\u201d 溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre\u2019s first production of the 2021-2022 season. Her work on the show also was the basis of a poster that took top honors among presenters in the social sciences, arts and humanities category in the Showcase 2021 of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly, and Creative Work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had a blast. I only wish the Showcase was longer because I had so much to say,\u201d said Visscher, whose presentation included a table of sample lights and her lighting design draft to explain the process of lighting design. \u201cI went into the showcase just excited to talk about lights. I didn\u2019t expect an award.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The role of lighting design is in a way simple \u2013 illuminate the actors, convey the mood, set the time and place of the scene. But the job is far more demanding, she says, including numerous readings of the script, breaking down and understanding the lighting needs of each scene, creating keys for the color and direction of the lights, creating a draft of where the lights will hang, and ensuring that the design works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visscher got her introduction to lighting as the light board operator last fall for \u201cMiss Nelson is Missing!\u201d and as the student master electrician for fall 2019\u2019s \u201cShe Kills Monsters.\u201d As a design and directing student in theatre, she immediately knew she wanted to add lighting to her jack-of-all-trades approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing lights would play a vital part in \u201cSilent Sky,\u201d a true story about women astronomers who made breakthroughs charting the stars, she applied to be assistant lighting designer. But the department instead offered her the position as lead designer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had never light designed and it seemed extremely daunting, but I was also excited they were offering me this position,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I knew that we have a really great support system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visscher had taken a lighting design class with Assistant Professor James Horban, and he served as her mentor for the play. Horban walked her through the entire process. She also collaborated with the show\u2019s director, Tracy Liz Miller, and scenic designer, Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs her first lighting design, I was impressed by Audrey’s ability and determination to stay focused throughout the entire process,\u201d says Horban. \u201cCreating a lighting design takes a lot of mental stamina, as one must quickly switch between an artistic eye and technical prowess, and Audrey was able to rise to that challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of Visscher\u2019s proudest moments from her design came when the story\u2019s lead character, Henrietta Leavitt, and her love interest, Peter, start to unite and can envision a future together. In a dream sequence, they are sailing on an ocean liner under the stars. But the daydream is broken when Henrietta\u2019s sister bursts in to tell her their father has had a stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt that moment I had to break everything. I had to break their dream. I had to break their secrets and bring the scene back to reality, but harshly,\u201d says Visscher. \u201cI had all of the main lights go dark immediately. And we had little chandeliers hanging everywhere \u2013 we called them planets \u2013 and each of them went out split seconds apart, which made the scene shattering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSilent Sky\u201d also gave Visscher another opportunity. While she\u2019s worked on almost all the department\u2019s mainstage productions and numerous student plays in her three-plus years, she had not worked a full-length show from start to finish and been a part of the rehearsal process. She got that experience in her dual role as the play\u2019s assistant director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat will definitely help me as a director,\u201d she says. \u201cNo director is going to graduate and say, \u2018I\u2019d like to be a director but I\u2019ve never been part of rehearsals for a show.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the pandemic reduced her theatre opportunities, Visscher has been busy playing catchup. This month, she\u2019ll assist with props on the production of \u201cClue: On Stage.\u201d In April, she\u2019ll check off another big box as assistant stage manager for \u201cThe Wizard of Oz.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her numerous backstage roles have fed her different interests and introduced her to new ones. When she started at 溏心vlog免费B站, Visscher was mainly interested in scenic design. Now she\u2019s experienced many other design opportunities, which have also given her the knowledge to help her effectively communicate with designers as a director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking beyond graduation, Visscher sees career options as plentiful as the jobs on her check list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBetween designing and directing, theatre and film, I am sure I will be jumping all over the place, keeping it fresh every time I accept a new role,\u201d she says. \u201c溏心vlog免费B站 Theatre offers so many opportunities and forces you out of your comfort zone. Unlike most conservatory programs, 溏心vlog免费B站 encourages and even requires students to experience something outside of their chosen concentration in order to fully understand and appreciate theatre. It\u2019s such a great push to find a niche you never would have considered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n