City Theatrical Interview with Lighting Designer Japhy Weideman
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An Interview with JAPHY WEIDEMAN PROFESSIONAL PROFILE: Japhy Weideman, is a five time Tony Name: Japhy Weideman nominated lighting designer who works Profession: Lighting Designer in theater, opera, and other live events. Experience: 20+ Years His designs have been experienced Location: New York, New York by audiences on and off Broadway, Website: www.japhyweideman.com and extensively throughout the United Recent Shows: Dear Evan Hansen (West End), States, Europe, and Asia. Originally from Charlie and the Chocolate Asheville, North Carolina, Japhy studied Factory (US National Tour), Lobby lighting design at The University of New Hero (Broadway), Coriolanus Mexico in Albuquerque before coming to (Shakespeare in the Park) NYC in 2001. THE INTERVIEW: political science, and dabbling in Druids, Anasazi) who recorded celestial photography, painting, and drawing. In and solar sun cycles, the Greeks and the City Theatrical (CTI): How did your New Mexico, the sky is overwhelmingly birth of Western Civilization, and on in to interest in lighting design begin? expansive – completely different the industrial revolution, electricity, and than what I had experienced in the eventually the result of humans becoming Japhy Weideman (JW): I grew up in Appalachians. The sunrises and sunsets numb to natural cycles. We even studied Western North Carolina outside of a small are mind blowing – all color and ever the physics of the eye. We took field city called Asheville, nestled in the heart changing sky. trips to Chaco Canyon, descended into of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We lived a Kiva chamber on winter solstice to in a log house in a forest on 50-acres While I was studying, I needed an witness the beam of light strike the center with a small farm. Naturally I spent most elective. I came upon “Intro to Stage of an engraved spiral during sunrise. of my time outdoors, thus I’ve always Lighting”, it was given through the The course had us question everything: been influenced by sunrises and sunsets, Theatre Department, and I thought it What is the life experience? How is it the change of seasons, and thus the could be interesting. I ended up studying packaged? How is it that we experience observance of nature has always been a under John Malolepsy, who became my theatre light? strong inspiration for my lighting. mentor. From there, I started experimenting in the CTI: Did you study lighting design? He taught a course that was a timeline of theatre with lighting design. I wanted to man’s relationship to light: it started with light anything I could get my hands on. JW: I left North Carolina at 17 and ended caveman’s quest for fire, and continued up in New Mexico, studying sociology, through other civilizations (Egyptians, Every summer and between semesters, “From there, I started experimenting in the theatre with lighting design. I wanted to light anything I could get my hands on.” Sam Tutty and the cast of Dear Evan Hansen London (Matthew Murphy) Page 1 of 4 I went to the Santa Fe Opera, where I was able to work with world-famous “I pushed scenery, ran shows, made designers. friends, and slowly worked my way The first year there I worked on the stage crew because they didn’t think I had into the lighting department. This enough experience to work in the lighting department. So I pushed scenery, ran industry is all about getting along shows, made friends, and slowly worked my way into the lighting department. This with people – it’s a people business.” industry is all about getting along with people – it’s a people business. Then in 2001 I moved to New York, also in terms of politics – how to handle about two months before 9/11. I had less complicated situations and personalities. Eventually I worked my way up to being than $2,000 in my pocket. a lighting supervisor where I assisted When I came to New York, Duane had a Jennifer Tipton and Duane Schuler. For the first few years here, I worked lot of jobs going on all over the world. I a console programmer, an electrician, think about it now – when I was 27 years Everyone I met in Santa Fe told me to assistant, off-off BWY designer, whatever old, I was going around the world to re- have other experiences, outside of the I had to do to be in the theatre. create his shows for him, in Chicago to theatre, and apply those experiences as Japan, Germany, and France. I worked a designer. So I never majored in Theatre CTI: What do you think was your big with him for a number of years, but the even though I had endless design break into show business in New opera world doesn’t overlap that much opportunities at UNM in Albuquerque. York? with the theatre world in New York. Because I was freelance, I was also CTI: How did you start out in the JW: There were a few key breaks I’m starting to design off Broadway and for professional lighting world? very thankful for. I would say one led to regional or local theatre productions. another; almost all interconnected. I can JW: When I got to the end of school and trace it all back to New Mexico if I really CTI: What were your next key had to survive, I went to the Arkansas dig deep. milestones? Repertory Theatre. I worked as a Production Manager/Resident LD for a The first one: working in New York as an JW: One key person was meeting and few years. It was a great place to start out associate to Duane Schuler, an opera working with Director Peter Stein, one of because it was an equity theatre where I lighting designer, who has done many the historic greats in German theatre, one could try ideas as a young designer. We many shows at the Met, as well as opera of the original artists of the Schaubuhne created amazing looking shows with not a all over the world. I learned a lot from in Berlin. We were designing with walls lot of money. him, not only in terms of aesthetics, but of fluorescents, stacks of 4K HMIs, and other big idea stuff that you don’t see so much on Broadway. The associate work I did then helped me build relationships with set designers, and get some of my own shows. At the Edinburgh International Festival, ffor example, Peter Stein and set designer Ferdinand Wögerbauer from Austria asked me about doing Blackbird BLACKBIRD By David Harrower. Directed by Peter Stein. LONDON WEST END, MJE Productions. Page 2 of 4 “For me it’s about finding collaborators who are open 4000 MILES by Amy Herzog. Directed by Daniel Aukin. LINCOLN CENTER THEATRE at The Mitzi Newhouse. and unafraid.” Photo: Richard Termine and J. Weideman at the Edinburgh International Festival. a window, and used no other light other shows followed: The Snow Geese I was nervous as hell, but I guess I did than backlighting from the fluorescents, (Friedman) with Mary Louise Parker, Of a good job, because I went on to design those types of visual images were what Mice and Men with James Franco and with them for more productions at La held the tension of the scene. Chris O’Dowd, Macbeth (Beaumont) with Scala, Nederlandse Opera, Epidaurus, Ethan Hawke, The Heidi Chronicles (The Royal Shakespeare Company, and Afterwards Labyrinth got a residency at Music Box) with Elizabeth Moss, Bright others. The Public Theater. Phil asked me to Star (The Court), Sylvia (The Court) with design the first LAB show there called Matthew Broderick, and Charlie and the Blackbird transferred to the West End The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, starring Chocolate Factory (The Lunt-Fontainne). in 2006, and got a lot of good reviews. Sam Rockwell, John Ortiz, and many of I ended up in that same theatre, then the great LAB actors. It was really visible Dear Evan Hansen started at Arena and called the Albery, which is now the Noël and led to a lot of other jobs. So now I then opened at The Music Box Theatre in Coward Theatre. Full circle, 13 years had a show on the West End, another 2016, and the rest is history. later, here I am working at the same very special show at The Public, and so theatre with Dear Evan Hansen West End on. So right at 2005 was my first lucky CTI: It seems you’ve always had a now. break in New York. lot of irons in the fire! What kind of projects do you really love working CTI: How did you end up going from CTI: How did you go from designing on? London back to New York? off-Broadway to Broadway? JW: For me it’s more about the team; JW: When Blackbird happened in JW: So many other things happened it’s about finding collaborators who are London, another break happened for me. along the way. The next one that led to open and unafraid, and not caught up in I had been assisting another fantastic Broadway work was designing for Amy their own ego persona. I feel really lucky designer named James Vermeulen, and Herzog’s play, 4000 Miles. It started at – the majority of the shows I do are with he was starting to work on Broadway the Duke on 42nd Street, which holds 200 people who are totally open to experiment shows. One of the directors he worked people, then moved uptown to Lincoln in order to find the core essence of the with was with Philip Seymour Hoffman.