The Night of the Iguana Univ. of Southern Mississippi

Scenic Design/Props Design Fall 2018

Director: Shannon Bain

Lighting Designer: Caleb Garner

Costume Designer: Mackenzie Dunn

Technical Director: Wes Hanson

Paint Charge: Amanda Klipsch-Fuquay

Photographer: Jenny Dodd

Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana is a story about a man’s relationship to God, the deterioration his own mind, and the sanctuary that people find with each other.

Disgraced Reverend Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, brings his tour group to the Costa Verde Hotel, hoping to find contentment in the quiet Mexican jungle that surrounds it. Here, he meets artist Hannah and her rapidly deteriorating poet of a grandfather, Nonno. As Nonno struggles to finish the poem that would ultimately be his swan song, Hannah and Shannon discover peace in a haven of their own making.

My design seeks to encapsulate the fuzziness of failing memory, with impressionistic brush strokes forming the events as they are relived. The tones and textures of the jungle create a calming connection to the natural world, while the Catholic church-inspired shapes in architecture provide an idea of comfort to a man who seeks solace in a sense of the Almighty.