Photos by Skye Schmidt
The Yellow Wallpaper
The Yellow Wallpaper is a devised dance-theatre production based on the same-titled American short story written in 1892 by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Inspired by Victorian-era attitudes and practices surrounding women's mental health, this narrative explores the fragility of the human psyche and the importance of autonomy and sovereignty of one's own health and body. Through a multidimensional performance merging together dance, theatre, and animated projections, O'Dell's adaptation is a celebration of creative collaboration, bringing together diverse artists to create a unified vision of performative storytelling. What begins as something perfectly ordinary quickly tumbles into dark chaos, with the yellow wallpaper projections acting as a window into the mental state of the main character. The projections begin as a typical wallpaper aesthetic and becomes increasingly kinesthetic and warped. Likewise, lighting morphs from perfectly appropriate incandescent warmth to saturate and unsettling colors that distort the figures of the dancers.
Lighting Design: Morgan Embry
Content Creation: Miranda Javid
Choreography: Robyn O'Dell
Sound Design: Jordan Tani
Set Design: Anna Laleggio
Stage Management: Samantha Sorin
Lighting Design: Morgan Embry
Content Creation: Miranda Javid
Choreography: Robyn O'Dell
Sound Design: Jordan Tani
Set Design: Anna Laleggio
Stage Management: Samantha Sorin
2019