The Liar by Corneille, adapted by David Ives

Directed by Eric Forsythe

Lighting by Cassie Malmquist

Costumes by Angie Esposito

This is a classic French play from the 1640's adapted by the hilarious David Ives. For this production the director and I wanted to honor the classic nature of the show by preserving some of the elements of theatre from the tome it was originally written; which for me meant an elegant theatre, wing and drop moving scenery, and lots of trompe l'oeil! So we built an elaborate new proscenium and new stage deck that extended out into the second row of the theatre to transform our large 457 seat proscenium house, E.C. Mabie Theatre into an intimate little jewel box theatre that felt just right for a private viewing of the show for the king and a few of his closest friends.

To preserve the director's dream of a full 7 full painted drop sets but cut down on paint time and money, I used a combination of profile scenery as well as a projection screen upstage. I wanted the profile scenery to have a "stock" sense to it, as if the acting company had only two sets of scenery--one interior and one exterior; but use the projection screen to project a new "painted drop" that would be specific for each scene and locale. Watch a scene change video here.