Amadeus
By Peter Shaffer

CONCEPT

One of the most challenging and rich contemporary plays, Amadeus is a truly brilliant interweaving of historical, biographical, and imaginary relationships. Shaffer said that he decided to write this play because the mourners at Mozart’s burial said that they were turned away by a terrible storm, while other accounts say that they were turned away by the secret police due to the rumors that he was murdered by Antonio Salieri. Shaffer portrays Salieri as moved by Mozart’s music. He does not purely hate Mozart; instead, he is astonished by and jealous of Mozart’s ability to create astounding music. This is what drives him crazy, not a hatred of the man, but a reverence for his music. What a beautifully dark aspect to humanity. It has been said that of all God’s creatures, we are the only with the spirit of questioning…the desire to want more from and for ourselves. 

*This production was performed at the University of Illinois for the Illinois High School Theatre Festival. 
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COLLABORATIVE TEAM

Set Design: Harold McCay
​Costume Design: Rachel Sypniewski
Lighting Design: John Sanchez
Vocal Coach: Chet Kondratowicz
Dramaturg: Barb Ezell
Technical Director: Karl Sullivan
Stage Manager: Alex Zalewski

SET DESIGN

We began by looking at the difference between perception and reality, when the vanity of the world intersects with our actual interactions. So, the central image we played with was a mirror. This translated to a space that showed the reflections of the self while also providing the opportunities to hide motives. This hidden space was seen in the screens that had scrim material facing them to show what we wanted to show only when we wanted to show them. 

PRODUCTION PHOTOS