A New Brain

Music and Lyrics: William Finn
Book: William Finn and James Lapine
Director: Jay Españo
Music Director: Jeremy Ramey

Gordon Schwinn is a talented yet frustrated composer who is working on a children’s TV show and is having a hard time composing a song for the show’s demanding star. His day gets much worse when he collapses into a plate of spaghetti during lunch with his friend Rhoda. He’s rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a life-threatening brain condition. As Gordon moves in and out of consciousness, a series of dreams and flashbacks help him come to terms with his career and the state of his relationships with his partner, his boss, and his mother; and remind him of all the songs he has yet to write.

The projections design for A New Brain aimed to bring the surreal to life. The scenic design was minimal but effective, using 2 circular curtain tracks to evoke hospital dividers. I then used video to take us out of the hospital and into Gordon's mind, from sailing with his boyfriend to the nightmares of his coma, scenic, lighting and projections really worked hand in hand to make a fun, well rounded show.