Mary jane

by Amy Herzog

Directed by JoAnn Johnson 

Scenic Design: Kristeen Willis

Lighting Design: Jenn Linn

Costume Design: Robert Brewer-Walling

Sound Design: Ryan Gamblin

Assoc. Sound Design: Matthew Rowning

“Protagonist Mary Jane navigates the mundane, the shattering, and the sublime realities of caring for Alex, her chronically ill young son, and finds herself building a community of women from many walks of life.”

The sonic landscape of this show was predominantly naturalistic – containing underlays of hospital environments and Queens apartments, with punctuations like medical alarms and passing cars. However, director JoAnn Johnson asked for certain moments to pervade naturalism and present an almost other-worldly aspect of Mary Jane’s experience, centering around her love for her child and the support that she receives from the community she finds throughout the text. These moments of expansion were created using processed samples of their everyday – feeding tubes, EKGs, the natural sounds of New York City, and Alex’s favorite music box.