Into the Woods
Book by James Lapine, 
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim ​

CONCEPT

​This show interweaves the most famous fairytales we know in shared journeys. Using that idea of interweaving, I employed the metaphor of a collage. I will always view this show from the perspective of my younger self; I was first introduced to this show when I was a little boy, seeing a tour. It seemed like my dreams were coming true on the stage in front of me. In that spirit, I would like to look at the world of this show as a dream of a child. In researching images that I related to, I found several children’s illustrators that use collage and a mystical blending of fantasy and reality in their work. 

COLLABORATIVE TEAM

Set Design: Katie Alvord-Wendling
​Costume Design: Rachel Sypniewski
Lighting Design: Vada Briceno
Sound Design: Matt Burmeister
Choreographer: Katie Desalvo
Musical Director: Austin O'Brien
Technical Director: Karl Sullivan
Stage Manager: Chelsea Doyle

SET DESIGN

Children's books are a great place to find art, and that was where I began this process. From color to style, I found that shredded paper was central. I know what you're thinking- Eric Carle... and yes, I started there. Images of Armenian fairytales, and collages of landscapes then took over- the layering of textures became crucial to the overall visual world. Our goal was to create a living picture book of graphics. We employed shapes in the set that were angular like the birch trees together with the jumble of planks seen in the slideshow to the left.​

PRODUCTION PHOTOS