Projection Design
The Great Leap by Lauren Yee
Direction Jesca Prudencio
Scenic Justin Humphres
Lighting Keith Parham
Costume Jenny Mannis
Sound Pornchanok Kanchanabanca
Projections Team
Assistant Gabrielle Strong
Programming Michael Commendatore
Projectionist Rick Haefele
Steppenwolf Theatre Company 2019
“Rasean Davonte Johnson's projection design captures the massive Tiananmen protests with terrible, hard-hitting beauty. Pornchanok Kanchanabanca's original music sonically heightens the stakes with subtlety throughout. Keith Parham's zippy lighting design captures the speed and intricacy of real-life basketball.” Catey Sullivan Chicago Reader
“Intricate on-court projections by Rasean Davonte Johnson (with an assist from Nok Kanchanabanca’s bopping ’80s-style tunes) add both pop and clarity to the story’s ever-quicking character beats.” Alex Huntsberger TimeOut Chicago
“Perfectly reflecting every permutation of the action on each side of the “stadium,” Rasean Davonte Johnson’s seamless projections and dazzling videos are characters in themselves.” Lawrence Boomer Stage and Cinema
“Lighting designer Keith Parham and projection designer Rasean Davonte Johnson also work brilliantly in tandem with flashy effects that often evoke a video game. Sound designer/composer Pornchanok Kanchanabanca also hits all the right notes to play up the emotion and tension of each scene.” Scott C. Morgan Daily Herald
“The Great Leap” begins with a cool beam of light outlining a basketball court. It ends with a flash that implies destruction and sacrifice…. Keith Parham’s lights and Rasean Davonte Johnson’s projection design transport us somewhere more personal, into the minds and hearts of each person holding the court at any given moment. Cool projection beams map out where Manford is going to travel.” Sarah Bowden Theatre By Numbers
Photos by Rasean Davonte Johnson and Michael Brosilow