Stellaluna

Stellaluna

Adapted by Saskia Janse
from the book by Jannell Cannon
with music by Guus Ponsioen

Direction: Caitlin Lowans

Music Director: Matthew Burgess
Puppet and Costume Design: Sully Ratke
Scenic Design: Marley Smith

presented by Imagine U
in the Wallis Theater at Northwestern University

Ensemble: Jane Emma Barnett, Jacob Entenman, Chamaya Moody, Lucette Panush, Jack Posey, Drew Tanabe, and Sinclair Willman

Photo credit: Justin Barbin

About designing Stellaluna:

Stellaluna is not only a delightful musical, but also a useful story about the discovery and sharing of what makes you, you. Stellaluna was my first musical lighting puppets and my first opportunity to intentionally design lighting for a wider scope of the population.  While I adapted the design for audience members’ sensory sensitivities the changes needed were minimal since Caitlin Lowans encouraged the creative team to give up unnecessary theatre conventions (such as house lights fully out during a show) in favor of a more relaxed environment for families. As a result a family that needed to step out could and the story was enhanced by removing the barrier of darkness typically between the audience and performers. The whole space was one and the connections between the audience, the performers, and the story felt natural from the first note.

Additionally the director, Caitlin Lowans encouraged us to create a sustainable design that was accessible to the kids in our audience.  Caitlin, along with our scenic designer, Marley Smith and our dedicated production manager, Kelly Crook gathered branches and fabric being discarded to create the set.  For our scene involving a large number of bats Caitlin and I explored ways of creating bat shadows and ended up giving the cast flashlights with rechargeable batteries and a mirror covered with the relief of bat stickers I designed and shared with kids. Reduce, reuse, repurpose.

-SJDG