Co - Projection Design
It Came From Outer Space by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair
Direction Laura Braza
Scenic Scott Davis
Lighting Heather Sparling
Costume Meika van der Ploeg
Sound Nick Pope
Projections Team
Designer│Lead Projectionist Rasean Davonté Johnson
Designer│Lead Animator Michael Salvatoré Commendatore
Associate Parker Molacek
Assistant Adian McLeod
Projectionist Mac Vaughey
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre│TheatreSquared 2022│Joseph Jefferson Award
“The staging — in Chicago Shakespeare Theater's small Upstairs Theatre — is impressively clever under director Laura Braza and an exceptional design team, especially video-projections designers Rasean Davonte Johnson and Michael Salvatore Commendatore, who have created beautiful 3-D-ish effects. The projections stand out against the flat, cartoon-like scenery pieces (mostly of red sandstone rocks) by Scott Davis” Jonathan Abarbanel TheatreMania
“Directed by Laura Braza, the production looks and sounds great. There are no 3-D glasses, but the opening scene (among others) offers planetarium-grade astral effects that’ll have you ooh-ing, aah-ing and perhaps even ducking as stars and flying saucers blast off from the stage. That’s thanks to star turns by lighting designer Heather Sparling and video/projection designers Rasean Davonte Johnson and Michael Salvatore Commendatore.” Catey Sullivan Chicago Sun-Times
“The uniformly brilliant cast of six, superbly directed by Laura Braza, is richly enhanced by Mieka Van Der Ploeg’s wonderfully bizarre costumes (a description of which I will not divulge here); eye-popping video/projection design by Rasean Davonte Johnson and Michael Salvatore Commendatore; and sound effects by Nicholas Pope, and the work of a slew of other designers.” Hedy Weiss WTTW News
Photos by Liz Lauren