quintessence theatre group 2016
playwright: George Bernard Shaw / Christopher Marlowe
direction: Rebecca Wright / Alexander Burns
scenic design: Alexander Burns / Brian Sidney Bembridge
lighting design: Brian Sidney Bembridge
costume design: Nikki Delhomme / Jane Casanave
sound design: Andriano Shaplin / Alexander Burns
Performed on a a fabulously lighted set atop a raked, black box stage, which bisects the house seating, and featuring few props and boldly colored costumes in patterns that pop, this SAINT JOAN is arrayed in rich tonalities consisting of color, light, positioning, and sound. It is wide awake.
Swirled in fog for every scene except scene vi when Joan is being tried for heresy, the customized set (Alexander Burns) takes on a surreal aspect, especially under the florescents which are part of a spectacular lighting design (Brian Sidney Bembridge). Well-placed sound (Adriano Shaplin) enhances mood, enriching and complementing scenes. Daringly designed costumes (Nikki Delhomme) stand out against the black stage. The technical feats displayed in SAINT JOAN are worthy of applause, along with the actors, and production people. phindie.com
Rebecca Wright’s staging — stunningly lit, on an often bare stage that cuts through the audience, and with fanciful print costumes that suggest the medieval setting without pining it down — reinforces the core sense of play as an arena for vigorous philosophical debate. Philadelphia Magazine
The football staging set designed by Alexander Burns cuts the black box in half, with a thin black platform and audience on two sides. This stage is cleverly raked from one side to the other giving the illusion of more depth than there actually is. Lighting Designer, Brian Sidney Bembridge, does an amazing job keeping the lights out of the audience area and illuminating the characters. Also effective are fluorescent lamps placed in the floor of the platform. The playing area is covered with stage smoke... dcmetrotheaterarts.com
..Alexander Burns walkway set and with Brian Sidney Bembridge's lighting, transforms it into Cathedrals, battlefields and the backroom dealings that led to Joan's doom.
...trap doors in his sloped set serve as portals to hell (and one humorous gag), which Brian Sidney Bembridge's lighting and a few simple props carve into a world of shadows and multiple locales. The Inquirer
It is all of that, and still a great deal of fun. Any director who attempts Faustus, (with its myriad spirits, sprites, emperors, clerics, visions, demons, even Lucifer himself,) must be part magician. Quintessence Artistic Director Alexander Burns, (assisted by a crack design team and a wonderful cast), pulls it off.
The lighting, smoke and strobe effects, courtesy of Brian Sidney Bembridge, contribute to the magical mood. dcmetrotheaterarts.com
Director Alexander Burns and his theater group and designers bring theatrical bad boy Christopher Marlowe‘s work to life. There’s nothing musty about their production of this 400 year old play. The tradition of producing DOCTOR FAUSTUS with illusion, firecrackers, appearances and disappearances dates back to its beginnings, and Quintessence’s staging does trickery proud. The stage itself, a long and deceptively simple black platform, extends across the middle of the theater space. It’s built in the configuration of a right triangle, and the ensemble performs on its tilted diagonal surface. The Inquirer
Quintessence’s approach to it all—concept, roles, costumes, visuals, smoke, crazy stuff, light, and sound design—is remarkably original and gloriously entertaining. phindie.com
The play turns into a bacchanalian party! Dramatic lighting (Brian Sidney Bembridge) and percussive sound fill the set. The stage becomes a sort of giant jack-in-the-box with colorful smoke and trap doors. Fantastical people pop up everywhere. Chestnut Hill Local
The entire company is strong and their many talents are on full display upon the runway-style stage that splits the Sedgwick Theater in two for this production. This unusual stage is used to create an intimate and eerie space where the door to hell itself may suddenly open beneath your feet. The lighting designs of Brian Sidney Bembridge contribute to the sinister effect, and selective use of puppets adds a bizarrely whimsical touch. talkin'broadway.com
...a supernatural arrangement that director Alexander Burns manifests with low-tech surprises using an audience-splitting ramped platform and Brian Sidney Bembridge’s bold lighting. This fast and furious production puts a premium on spectacle — dragons, magic tricks, trapdoors belching fog and light that lead straight to Hell’s pit — but is also remarkably clear verbally and easy to follow. broadstreetreview.com
