"Agnes of God"
by John Pielmeier
Lighting Design* by Julia van Broek
*This design was for an academic project and therefore was never realized onstage.
Light Plot
Brief Summary of the Play
The story being told in “Agnes of God” is based on true events. In the play, a psychiatrist is assigned to work with a young woman who is on trial for manslaughter of her baby. The doctor, Martha Livingstone, must assess whether or not the woman, Agnes, is insane in order to determine what will become of her. Agnes is a young nun who denies any memory of conceiving, carrying, or giving birth to a baby. She is the niece of Mother Miriam Ruth, who is the Mother Superior of the convent. Mother Miriam is very opposed to the science of psychiatry and Martha’s techniques. Doctor Martha has a deep distain for the Catholic Church because her sister died in a convent.
Artistic Concept
The artistic point of view for this production is that the audience will follow the path of emotions that each character is the focus of that moment. For example, whenever Agnes is the focus of a moment, the audience should feel claustrophobic, confused, and afraid. For some of the moments focused on Dr. Martha, the audience should feel a sense of patience, intrigue, and skepticism; while in some of her other scenes, the audience should feel impatience, resentment, and frustration.
Stylistically, the production will be scenically sparse, with only the bare minimum of required set pieces. The purpose of this is to recreate the idea of a convent while also allowing for extreme contrast in lighting. The lighting will be used not only to create a mood onstage and to make the actors visible, but also to create spaces in a way that set pieces might. There are three locales in this production, and they will be defined by recognizable and repeated changes in light.
Stylistically, the production will be scenically sparse, with only the bare minimum of required set pieces. The purpose of this is to recreate the idea of a convent while also allowing for extreme contrast in lighting. The lighting will be used not only to create a mood onstage and to make the actors visible, but also to create spaces in a way that set pieces might. There are three locales in this production, and they will be defined by recognizable and repeated changes in light.
Research
