Ethereal Convergence

Role: Production Designer, Assistant Technical Director

Project Type: Live Event

Fall 2023

You have been formally invited to a ritual in the woods by an old friend, Cosmina Robshaw. Her great-grandfather's estate has fallen into disrepair. On the night of the lunar eclipse, Cosmina enlists the help of the witches to try to summon Azarah, a powerful planes-walker deity. The ritual begins at the stroke of midnight, as the shadow of the earth eclipses the moon, and the veil between realities is lifted. Will you survive the Ethereal Convergence, or will the old gods decide you aren't worthy for the party of a lifetime?

Overall image of main stage and surrounding rock formations

One of my goals was to transform the CalArts Main Gallery into an unrecognizable space, making the audience feel small and that control was outside of their hands. I designed a series of rock work elements to gain a perspective that would lead your eye to the center of the stage. The rock work features became larger as you got closer to the stage, with the tallest pieces being at 14 feet to draw your eye upwards to the balcony where the DJ was performing.

Closeups of main stage, featuring invisible blacklight paint revealed in theatrical summoning at midnight

A challenge that I wanted to focus on was creating a connection between the balcony and lower level of the stage to make everything feel cohesive. At the center of the stage sat the ruins of a summoning portal. This centerpiece in conjunction with an LED screen provided a backdrop that connected the two levels into one large stage.