Guys and Dolls
Univ. of Southern Miss.

Scenic Design/ Props Design Fall of 2019

Director: Lou Rackoff

Lighting Design: Caleb Garner

Costume Design: Mackenzie Dunn

Sound Design/Live Mixing: Tiffany Nabors

Technical Director: Jay Morris

Paint Charge: Aline Toloto

Scene Shop Supervisor: Wes Hanson

Photographer: Jenny Dodd

Guys and Dolls is a show of intention and luck: a choice to gamble on the potential for true love, or lose it all. We wanted to embrace this idea of a New York City in which anything can happen, this fanciful idea of Manhattan and all of its best qualities. We embraced a New York of  color and movement, where the amber streetlights and glowing city lights can be as romantic as the stars in the sky.

The city needed to feel vast and daring while the scenes felt small and personal. We used archways as a pop of festive color and light, but also to help create this sense of vastness and perspective in a small space.

This musical moves quickly from one scene to the next, so flexibility in staging was paramount. We wanted to keep this momentum flowing naturally, so we used this large rotating unit that could be adapted quickly, opening into new locales. The rest of the staging was simple, allowing for the choices and actions of the characters to be laid bare. The flown in signs helped to further separate scene locations and add a touch of magic.