Where Words Once Were | 2017
by Finegan Kruckemeyer
Weber State University
Director: Tracy Callahan
Scenic Design: Sam Transleau
Costume Design: Catherine Zublin
Lighting Design: William Peterson
Projection Design: Tiffany Campbell
Sound Design: Jessica Greenberg
Original Composition: Carey Campbell
Production Photos: dav.d photography
Design Statement: Imagining a Restrictive Future With Limited Resources
WHERE WORDS ONCE WERE touches on the often overlooked beauty and power of words. Words can be weapons of hate or messages of love. A single work can make all the difference in the world. Finegan Kruckemeyer's play introduces an isolated world where to control the population, only 1,000 words are allowed at any one time. Often old words like "beautiful" are eliminated and replaced by calculated words such as "photosubmissionization.” As the children of "The City" discover how the rules came into being and at what cost, they enter into a mystery that keeps the play moving forward in a most unusual and hopeful way.
The costumes were designed to invoke a time in the future where people have limited resources due to the isolation of this world. Colors were chosen from a palette that could be derived from natural dyes. Fabrics and materials were selected to communicate the youthfulness of the main characters and the despair of the characters that are silenced.
USITT's biennial juried exhibition of costume, scenic, and lighting designers displayed the work of 134 designers. The work of 16 designers was then chosen by the 2018 USITT Design Expo panel of judges for publication in Theatre Design & Technology, Summer 2018. The introduction to the designer's work was written by Daniel Denhart and each designer wrote the copy for their page. Catherine Zublin's costume designs for Where Words Once Were are featured on page 63.
