Pearl Curran was a housewife in early twentieth century St Louis. She was also the operator of a Ouija board through which Patience Worth, a long-dead early British colonist, spoke. Over the course of two decades, a remarkably prolific Patience dictated and subsequently published millions of words in books, poems, and plays through Pearl’s Ouija board and ultimately through Pearl’s own voice. The for/word company partnered with designers and engineers to enlist the power of media, projection mapping, and live motion-capture to bring Patience Worth’s spirit to life on stage.
The script for Patience Worth was developed through staged readings at Available Light Theatre (Columbus, OH) and at Tristan Bates Theatre (London, UK). Grants from The Greater Columbus Arts Council and The Ohio State University supported the research and collaboration that enabled the premiere production of Patience Worth at the Kranzberg Arts Center in Pearl’s home town of St. Louis, Missouri.
The scene design created a period drawing room with selective pieces of architecture, furniture, and dressing. The floating upper wall and picture rail served as a surface for front projection. Framed pictures along the upstage wall received rear-projection images. A motion-capture camera hid inside the lamp on the fireplace. We created an open environment that felt confined, shadowy and mysterious.
SCENE DESIGN and PRODUCER: Brad Steinmetz
ANIMATIONS and PROJECTION DESIGN: Vita Berezina-Blackburn
PROJECTION SYSTEMS DESIGN: John Luna
COSTUME DESIGN: Kristine Kearney
LIGHTING DESIGN: Eric Elz and Sarah Lawler
SOUND DESIGN and COMPOSITION: Caitlyn Trevor
the for/word company
DIRECTION: Jennifer Schlueter and Sarah Ware
March, 2017
