When I asked Brad Peterson to define the role of video in Corruption, he replied: “To act as an integral part of the storytelling.” Peterson, who, along with Benjamin Pearcy, comprises the 59 Productions duo responsible for the show’s Projections, went on to explain why the use of video was a special challenge for this LCT staging in the Mitzi E. Newhouse.
“I’ve never worked with this many TV monitors before,” Peterson said. “There are 28 of them, on the scenic ring above the main playing area. They have a dominant role in the space.”
Since the human eye tends to fix on any bright screen there was a possibility the monitors could swamp the focus of theatergoers. “We never want the audience to feel obligated to watch TV,” Peterson said. “So choosing when to make the monitors active was really important.”
Sometimes, the show’s video includes clips involving real people directly related to the narrative: the use of phone hacking by Murdoch media in the U.K. a decade ago to influence power and increase profit. “It was fun finding clips and being part of a team deciding how they would be used,” Peterson said.
That team includes not only Bartlett Sher, the director, and J.T. Rogers, the playwright, but also Donald Holder, the production’s ace lighting designer. “He’s a great colleague,” Peterson said. “Which is fortunate given that all our video cues are triggered by the lighting board. I like to joke that projections are really just expensive lights.”
As it happens, Peterson himself studied lighting design. He pursued this major at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. “I always wanted to move to New York and work in theater,” he said, “and during my initial time in the city I was an assistant and associate on lighting projects.” A decade ago, he got in touch with Pearcy, who, like Peterson, has a background in lighting, and their encounter resulted in Peterson becoming part of the 59 Productions team. (The company has been an essential part of several hit shows at LCT, including Rogers’ Oslo.)
In addition to coordinating the video on overhead monitors, Peterson and Pearcy also are involved with Corruption’s live feed. “We’ve put four cameras in the space,” Peterson said. “It’s a powerful part of the production’s visuals. But we have to be careful how we use them. As with the pre-recorded video, it’s important that what’s on the live cameras not pull focus from the actors. Everything has to be in harmony and advance the storytelling. That’s always the goal.”
Brendan Lemon is a freelance journalist in New York.
