Sean Hennessy: Lighting Design Portfolio

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• Staged at the Chatham Playhouse
• from Oct. 29th − Nov. 13th, 2004
• Written by David Auburn
• Directed by Bob Pridham
• Lighting Designer: Sean Hennessy
• Sound Design: Christopher Furlong
• Costume Design: Kathy Ruskin

Synopsis of Proof

On the eve of her twenty-fifth birthday, Catherine, a troubled young woman, has spent years caring for her brilliant but unstable father, a famous mathematician. Now, following his death, she must deal with her own volatile emotions; the arrival of her estranged sister, Claire; and the attentions of Hal, a former student of her father's who hopes to find valuable work in the 103 notebooks that her father left behind. Over the long weekend that follows, a burgeoning romance and the discovery of a mysterious notebook draw Catherine into the most difficult problem of all: How much of her father's madness-or genius-will she inherit?

Ticketing Information

To purchase advance tickets for this production, please visit TicketLeap.com.

You may alternatively call the Chatham Playhouse theatre box office between 7:00 and 8:30 Tuesday through Thursday, or Saturday 9:30 to Noon at (973) 635-7363.

Lighting Design Concept Summary This production of Proof rests firmly in a naturalistic style across all design elements. The scenic design presents itself through minimalistic realism -- elements of the whole suggest the larger environment.

The sources of light in this environment intentionally mimic the natural world – the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west. Passages of time are revealed through time lapse transitions during scene changes. The light levels used to indicate time of day are both realistic and bold. A careful mesh of textures overlay the ambient light across all surfaces — mostly leafy breakups, branches, and overhanging clouds. The color palette is not overly saturated, and neither intentionally muted. Evening is characterized by shadowy, high-contrast moonlight with the offsetting glow of interior ambers and a corner streetlamp. A wealth of warm tones – predominantly in pinks and oranges appears at sunrise, gradually giving way to the cool blue atmospheric light of mid-day.

Sean Hennessy's lighting design contributes greatly to the shifts in time so that we mmediately know when we're revisiting the past or observing the present...

The decision to pursue a naturalistic genre is not rigid or restrictive. The more dramatic moments in the play allow for greater isolation of the characters from their surrounding space – the equivalent of the film camera zooming in – pools of light gradually draw focus inward for the most emotionally charged moments of action. Yet the overall rhythm of the cue orchestration is one of slow, subtle change – cumulus clouds passing slowly by overhead, the desaturation of sunrise colors as time progresses into dawn – all these events are coordinated with the theme of the overlaid dialogue, but subsequently orchestrated as to appeal conspicuously to the subconscious and inconspicuously to the conscious.

Proof depicts through its intense and complicated characterizations the emotional struggles associated with intellectual brilliance.

There is a fascinating interview with Proof's playwright and Osserman of the Mathmatical Association of America, that delves further into Auburn's motivations and the mathematical underpinnings of the play Proof. If you are interested, you can read my copy of the interview.

Auburn creates a moving and cohesive character driven drama that delves deep into the foundation of our humanity. The emotional crisis of a fathers death is pitted against the formal logic of mathematics in a dynamic interplay that is as captivating as it is clever.

About the Playwright – David Auburn David Auburn's play Proof premiered at the Manhattan Theatre Club in May 2000, and opened at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre on October 24, 2000. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim Foundation Grant, Helen Merrill Playwrighting Award, and Joseph Kesselring Prize for Drama.
His other plays include: Skyscraper, Fifth Planet, Miss You, and The Next Life. His work has been published in Harper's Magazine and The New England Review. He was a member of the Juilliard playwrighting program.