Kleiman lights up 'Elephant Man' set

MARSHFIELD – When Dana Kleiman comes home, she really lights things up.

The 2003 Marshfield Senior High graduate is designing the lighting for the upcoming production of “The Elephant Man.”  Kleiman graduated in May from Minnesota State University – Mankato with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Technical Theatre with an emphasis in lighting design/lighting technology.

The Campus Community Players production of “The Elephant Man” will be performed Nov. 1-3 and 8-10 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Black Box Theatre in the Helen Connor Laird Fine Arts Building on the UW-Marshfield/Wood County campus, 2000 W. 5^th St.  Tickets are $10 in advance; $12 at the door; and are available by calling 715-389-6534.

 “I’m really excited about this project,” Kleiman said. “The production involves projections, which I’ve never really gotten into before.  Projections are not really sets, and they’re not really lights.  They’re usually tacked on to one or the other, but the technology involved is very different.”

“The Elephant Man” is a theatrical retelling of the semi-biographical account of John Merrick, set in London, said Steve Decker, assistant professor of theatre and communication arts and director of Campus Community Players.  Dubbed the “Elephant Man” by a circus freak show due to severe physical deformities, Merrick is rescued by a kind doctor. Eventually, he is able to successfully integrate into Victorian society.  The set is stark and simplistic, Decker said, and along with the projections, reflect a very 1930s Brechtian style of theatre.

“It was a style of theatre that is highly presentational,” Kleiman said. “You see the lights, you see the set – you see the mechanics of the theatre as an art form.  The projections themselves are a sort of PowerPoint; before each scene, quote, a moral or theme is projected against a screen or backdrop.”

“It is a great to have a talented young designer help in telling this story,” Decker said. “Dana has worked here in the past and it is always a great feeling to have people come back and demonstrate more of their growing talents. Her work on lighting and projections will visually support the emotional tone each scene and focus our attention on the actors. We are very grateful and appreciative of her work, and on top of everything else- she is kind and makes me laugh.”

After completing the lighting design for “The Elephant Man,” Kleiman will be touring with Troop America, working as an assistant master electrician on “A Christmas Carol.”  She spent the summer as an electrics intern and board operator in San Maria, Calif., with the Pacific Coast Performing Arts Co.

“After ‘A Christmas Carol,’ I’ll be pursuing additional jobs and internships, continuing to build up my resume,” Kleiman said.

The Campus-Community Players presents a wide variety of productions, including classical work, new plays, musicals and, sometimes, family oriented work. As a college theatre program, which also relies on members of the community in its productions, the primary goal of the program is the education of students. Many students have gone on to professional careers in acting, directing, playwriting, theatre education and theatrical production. This aim of teaching and learning requires a variety of theatrical genres, periods and styles which reflect the current contemporary theatre landscape.

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