Megan M. Reilly

written by Jackie Sibblies Drury

|| produced by Street Corner Arts | performed November 2018 at Hyde Park Theatre, Austin TX | directed by Liz Fisher | scenic design by Chris Conard | costume design by Aaron Flynn | lighting design by Megan Reilly ||

written by Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

|| produced by Mixed Blood Theatre | performed November 2018 at Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, MN | directed by Thomas W. Jones II | scenic design by Joseph Stanley | costume design by Valerie St. Pierre Smith | lighting design by Mary Shabatura | media design by Megan Reilly | photography by Rich Ryan richryan.com ||

|| produced by Firehouse Center for the Performing Arts | performed August 2018 at the Arakelian Theatre, Newburyport, MA | directed by Joe Junkievich | scenic design by David Stawasz | costume design by Victoria Carot | lighting design by Megan Reilly | Photography by Tim Gurczak ||

words by Felicia Olusanya & David Francis Moore

|| produced by Collaborative Artists Company | performed June 2018 at Smock Alley Boys School, Dublin Ireland | conceived & devised by entire team over a year-long process | directed by David Francis Moore | scenic & projection design by Greg Mitchell | costume design by Olga Maslova | lighting design by Megan Reilly | animations by Stephanie Golden | music by Dan Reid | photography by Greg Mitchell & Felicia Olusanya ||

Lady Na Master and the Synaptic Room began as an experimental collaboration between artists in Ireland and in the United States. Over the course of a year and many design and production meetings held via Zoom, an installation and performance project was born in which every member had an equal creative voice in the final outcome. In April 2018, American artists traveled to Dublin to workshop elements of the production, which eventually centered around the spoken word poetry of rising Irish artist Felicia Olusanya and musician Dan Reid. Using the unique space of the Boys School theatre at Smock Alley, we created an installation that invited the audience into the mind of a woman to experience what it might feel like to push against the boundaries her world has set for her and attempt to define her emotions and life on her own terms.

|| produced by Live Action Set | performed May 2016 at the Southern Theatre, Minneapolis, MN | directed by Noah Bremer & Joanna Harmon | lighting design by Megan Reilly | photography by Bill Cameron & Megan Reilly ||

|| produced by Prescott Park Arts Festival | performed June-August 2017 at Prescott Park, Portsmouth, NH | directed by David Kaye | scenic design by Carol Jo Fisher | costume design by Victoria Carot | lighting design by Megan Reilly | Photography by Ron St. Jean Photography ||

written by Aditi Brennan Kapil

|| produced by Mixed Blood Theatre | performed November 2016 at Mixed Blood Theatre, Minneapolis, MN | directed by Jack Reuler | scenic design by Joseph Stanley | costume design by Janet O'Neill | lighting design by Wu Chen Khoo | media design by Megan Reilly | photography by Rich Ryan richryan.com ||

"Orange" is the story of Leela, a 17 year old girl traveling from Calcutta to Orange County for the first time to confront her father. Her unique personality and perspective - she is on the autism spectrum - is the lens through which the audience experiences the play, and throughout the story she is seen drawing in her journal. Her drawings, or what she imagines them to be, are projected on either side of the stage during the action.

|| produced by Toasterlab & Assembly Festival | performed August 2017 at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland | directed by Ian Garrett & Aaron Willis | scenic & costume design by Anahita Dehbonehie | projection design by Montgomery Martin | lighting design by Megan Reilly ||

Transmission was a mixed reality distributed immersive performance that took place over various locations in Edinburgh. Using an app developed for the performance and taking advantage of augmented reality technology, audiences navigated to specific locations and discovered events that had taken place there, events critical to the play's narrative. Transmission centered around two sisters chosen for Earth's first mission to contact extraterrestrial life. At the center of the entire play was the mission briefing, in which the audience as addressed as the crew.

The remaining photos seen here show one of the found scenes, which was a live performance - a window dance which took place nightly at four windows at a hostel. Each window was lined with LED household lighting fixtures controlled by the performers via remote. This allowed the performers to turn their windows on and off as needed.

written by Sarah Ruhl

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed February 2016 at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Steve Yoakum | scenic design by Megan Reilly | costume design by Lynn Farrington | lighting design by Tom Barrett ||

created by Torry Bend

|| produced by Open Eye Figure Theatre | performed February 2016 at Open Eye Figure Theatre, Minneapolis, MN | directed & designed by Torry Bend | media design by Megan Reilly & Raquel Salvatella de Prada | lighting design by Bill Healey ||

written by Anton Chekov

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed November 2017 at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Beth Cleary | scenic design by Dan Keyser | costume design by Lynn Farrington | lighting & projection design by Megan Reilly ||

written by Katie Cappiello

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed February 2018 at the Loch, Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Signe Harriday | costume design by Lynn Farrington | lighting design by Thomas Barrett | projection design by Megan Reilly ||

written by Mark Hollmann & Greg Kotis

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed November 2016 at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Harry Waters Jr. | scenic design by Erica Zaffarano | costume design by Lynn Farrington | lighting design by Megan Reilly ||

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed April 2017 at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center & Minnesota Nurses Association, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Beth Cleary. | scenic & lighting design by Megan Reilly | costume design by Rich Hamson ||

written by Quiara Alegría Hudes

|| produced by The Playhouse San Antonio | performed July 2015 at the Cellar Theater, San Antonio, TX | directed by Jim Mammarella | scenic design by Ryan deRoos | costume design by Cassandra Trautman | lighting design by Kaitlin Muse | pi wall configuration by Dario Landazuri | photography by Siggi Ragnar ||

For this show, the set designer and I had to come up with an inexpensive solution for making a video wall consisting of 23 displays. The answer to this scenic and media design challenge was PiWall, an open source software package that uses one Raspberry Pi computer per display to create a video wall of any size. All video cues are executed via shell scripts sent from one "master" computer. We were able to build cues within QLab that executed these scripts.

Virtual settings create challenges for Playhouse's 'Water by the Spoonful,' San Antonio Express News, June 26, 2015.

"The main element in Ryan DeRoos’ set design is a video wall, an ingenious solution to the problem of how to capture those distinctive worlds in the tiny Cellar space. Video elements (deftly crafted by Megan Reilly) make very clear where everything is taking place."

My San Antonio, 7/3/2015

"Set designer Ryan Deroos makes good use of the Cellar Theater’s space, creating a tiered, modular set that’s backed by numerous video monitors upon which Megan Reilly’s evocative visuals are projected, giving each scene a sense of place."

Blogcritics, 7/7/2015

Swarm the World is a worldwide collaborative installation conceived and orchestrated by NYC-based artist Tasha Lewis. Beginning in October 2014, fifteen packages of 350 butterflies each traveled the world in the hands of 204 different collaborators who installed them temporarily in public places.

Originally I was supposed to participate from Austin, Texas, but due to logistics and complications, I actually moved to Minnesota before I received the swarm. I finally got them on April 12, 2016. Due to it being the end of the spring semester at Macalester, as well as pretty gross weather-wise during the month of April, I waited until May to create my installations.

On Saturday, May 7 I took the swarm to Washington Ave in Minneapolis, where I installed them up and down the street on various structures such as construction signs, manhole covers, and telephone poles with the help of Travis Bedard and Will Hollis Snider. The wind made it difficult to keep the installations up for more than a few minutes, and at one point I chased the butterflies into traffic to rescue them. We had a couple of people stop to ask us about it and the response was really positive.

Then, on Sunday the three of us went to Minnehaha Falls where we installed them by the falls on a fence with the help of Trish, Mark, Paige, and Evelyn Vaillancourt. There were LOTS of people there, and many very curious people stopped to talk to us. One man assumed we were protesting something, and another person wanted to make sure we were going to "pick them all up" when we were done, but everyone else was very positive. Many people stopped to take their own photos with friends posing in front of the butterflies.

Swarm the World on Tumblr: the main collection of photos from installations all over the world.

Swarm the World Migration Site: for more information on the project itself.

|| created & orchestrated by Tasha Lewis | exhibited October 2014-May 2016 at sites all over the world | Minneapolis photography by Will Hollis Snider & Travis Bedard ||

written by Hayley Finn

|| produced by Red Eye Theater | performed April 2017 at Red Eye Theater, Minneapolis, MN | directed by Andrew Lee Dolan & Hayley Finn. | scenic design by Gary Johnson | costume design by Liz Josheff | lighting design by Megan Reilly ||

While You Were Out is an experimental headset theater piece in which the audience experiences one of two narratives. Seated on one side of the stage, each audience member wears a set of headphones and hears either the intimate conversations and inner, subconscious thoughts of the younger version of Beatrice or the older version of the same character, while being able to see the other narrative taking place in the background. At key points during the play, the two Beatrices cross and exist in a liminal space together, and all audience members can hear both for a period of time.

written by William Shakespeare

|| produced by Macalester College Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed November 2015 at the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Saint Paul, MN | directed by Barbra Berlovitz | scenic design by Annie Henly | costume design by Sonja Berlovitz | lighting design by Megan Reilly ||

written by Marilyn Campbell & Curt Columbus

|| produced by The Playhouse San Antonio | performed March 2015 at the Cellar Theater, San Antonio, TX | directed by David Rinear | scenic design by Ryan deRoos | costume design by Cassandra Trautman | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Siggi Ragnar ||

"Megan Reilly's lighting design is incredibly focused, with spotlights, dim shadows and a bare yellowed glow representative of Raskolnikov's sickly mind. The set by Ryan DeRoos imaginatively reflects the play through a backdrop of worn doors, empty door frames and jagged platforms awash in dark hues. Both elements blend to define the small blackbox theatre into even smaller scenes, aiding in the actors' transitions from character to character, distinguishing each scene from the last and highlighting introspective moments."

Theatre for Change, 3/13/2015

written by Liz Fisher

|| produced by Whirligig Productions | performed January 2015 at the Rollins Theater, Austin, TX | directed by Liz Fisher | scenic design by Justin Smith | costume design by Jamie Urban | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | projection design by Lowell Bartholomee | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

Deus Ex Machina was a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure retelling of the Oresteia, with the audience playing the role of the gods. As she awaits Agamemnon's return from the Trojan War, Clytemnestra goes to the Oracle to seek advice on how she should receive him. The audience chooses from one of two prophecies by voting via their cell phones, the result of which affects the course of the narrative (either she kills Agamemnon or she doesn't). With Electra's and Orestes's visits later on in the play, what I was tasked with lighting wasn't one show but twelve. The challenge was to create a design that branched and jumped to different cues depending on what was chosen by the audience, but would also allow each of those twelve possible plays to have a design that was unique and coherent for that path.

written by Chantal Bilodeau

|| produced by the University of New Hampshire Department of Theater and Dance | performed February 2014 at the Johnson Theater, Durham, NH | directed by Deb Kinghorn | scenic design by Szu-Feng Chen | costume design by Sara Demos | lighting & projection design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Megan M. Reilly & UNH Photography Services ||

I was both the lighting and projections designer for Sila.  The projections design consisted of original handmade animations, text animations, surtitles, video of the Northern Lights, and an undersea video used to front light a scene.

written by Katie Bender

|| produced by Shrewd Productions | performed September 2014 at City Theater, Austin, TX | directed by Rudy Ramirez | scenic design by Ann-Marie Gordon | costume design by Jennifer Davis | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | projection design by Patrick Lord | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

|| B. Iden Payne Award nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2015 ||

|| produced by Glass Half Full Theatre | performed September 2014 at Salvage Vanguard Theater, Austin, TX | conceived & directed by Caroline Reck | scenic design by Caroline Reck & Connor Hopkins | costume design by Erin Meyer | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

"There is also a stunning lighting design by Megan Reilly. Each of the parts of this production shares an equal importance in telling this stunning, moving, ephemeral dream-story."

Broadway World Reviews, 9/7/2014

"K. Eliot Haynes’ lovely sound design pairs with Megan Reilly’s dynamic lighting to create a world for the play that runs the gamut of playful, serene, and sad. These production elements saturate the performance with atmosphere and serve as profound backdrop for Reck’s movements."

Austin 360, 9/10/2014

"The silence, Megan Reilly's lighting with changes that mark the passing hours of the days, Reck's unspeaking ingenuity and her longing for companionship -- all these establish a spirit of Zen-like concentration.

Central Texas Live Theatre, 9/11/2014 

"Megan Reilly's lighting is top-tier, tripping on the effervescent textiles and metallic objects that comprise the flotilla at the center of it all."

The Austin Chronicle, 9/19/2014

written by Laura Marks

|| produced by Theatre en Bloc | performed May 2014 at the Rollins Theater, Austin, TX | directed by Jenny Lavery | scenic design by WT Bryant | costume design by Jenny Hanna-Chambers | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

|| B. Iden Payne Award nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2014 ||

"The technical components of this show should also be lauded for creating a sense of realism and detail that is rarely afforded to theatre-goers in Austin. The lighting was tonally appropriate, creating the perfect atmosphere of a dimly lit home and an overly clean car dealership. In addition, the set design marvels in its simplicity- it's made to look like an everyday, cookie cutter house, and it succeeds to the last detail."

Broadway World Review, 6/25/2014

adapted by Connor Hopkins from the novel by Russell Hoban

|| produced by Trouble Puppet Theater Company | performed September 2011 at Salvage Vanguard Theater, Austin TX | directed by Connor Hopkins & Jeanine Lisa | scenic design by Connor Hopkins | costume design by Pam Friday | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

|| B. Iden Payne Award nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2012 ||

|| featured in "Trouble Puppet Theater," KLRU's Arts in Context, PBS, January 2012 ||

written by Dustin Wills

|| produced by Tutto Theatre Company | performed November 2008 at the Blue Theatre, Austin TX | directed by Dustin Wills | scenic design by Lisa Laratta | costume design by Kim H. Ngo | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Daniel Brock and Megan M. Reilly ||

|| Winner, B. Iden Payne Award, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2009 ||

written by Sophie Treadwell

|| produced by Paper Chairs | performed May 2010 at Salvage Vanguard Theater, Austin TX | directed by Dustin Wills | scenic design by Lisa Laratta | costume design by Kim H. Ngo | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Russel Thomas Clayton and Megan M. Reilly ||

|| Austin Critics Table nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2011 ||

written by Elizabeth Doss

|| produced by Tutto Theatre Company & Vortex Repertory Company | performed October 2009 at the Vortex Theatre, Austin, TX | directed by Dustin Wills | scenic design by Lisa Laratta | costume design by Kim H. Ngo | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Kimberley Mead, Will Snider, & Megan M. Reilly ||

|| Winner, B. Iden Payne Award, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2010 ||

written by William Inge

|| produced by Texas A&M Department of Performance Studies | performed April 2013 at the Rudder Forum, College Station, TX | directed by Amy Guerin | scenic design by Justin Miller | costume design by Kristina Miller | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly ||

conceived & directed by Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone

|| produced by 600 HIGHWAYMEN | performed April 2012 at Lucky Lady Bingo Hall, Austin, TX | costume design by Georgia Young | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Will Hollis Snider ||

created by Misha Penton

|| produced by Divergence Vocal Theater | performed October 2009 at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX | directed by Misha Penton | lighting & multimedia design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Eric Melear & Dave Nickerson ||

For Autumn Spectre I was responsible for designing both lights and video / multimedia. Included here are two short films I shot for the project, which were projected across the white walls of the church while the singers performed.

special thanks to Emily Tindall, Molly McKee, Travis Bedard and Misha Penton

Selkie, A Sea Tale was an original opera composed by Elliot Cooper Cole, written by Misha Penton, and conceived collaboratively between Penton and myself. The creative team worked primarily on Google Wave, a great (if short-lived) tool for collaborating in real time with artists online, before meeting in Houston to put our ideas on stage.

|| produced by Divergence Vocal Theater | performed November 2010 at Obsidian Arts Space, Houston, TX | directed by Misha Penton | scenic design by David Brown | costume design by Sarah Mosher | lighting & video design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Sarah Mosher and Dave Nickerson ||

From the Feldenkrais Center of Houston Blog, 11.8.2010: "The lighting by Megan Reilly was at first whimsical, then provided a heartbreaking ambiance for the inevitable conclusion of love lost – or at least, different than you thought it would be. In concert with David Brown’s stunning minimalist set installation, consisting of three large metal frames, wrapped in layer upon layer of cling-wrap, the effect was inviting, engaging, and a thing of beauty."

|| produced by Austin Community College's Department of Dance | performed December 2013 at ACC's Rio Grande Campus, Austin, TX | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Jose Bustamante ||

The Rude Mecanicals' production of The B. Beaver Animation was intended as a re-enactment of Mabou Mines' legendary 1974 performance. The challenge was to go as far as we possibly could with documentation materials available and the on-site assistance of a few Mabou Mines members involved in the original piece in recreating every element of the performance faithfully. This proved to be difficult with lighting - we did not have a color video to look at for the cues, only the concept of using only four slide projectors and the knowledge of the specific placement of the cues. I was fortunate enough to have original designers Terry O'Reilly and Thom Cathcart to consult in recreating the original design, and I knew that the slides used in the show had different colors and patterns in them. In the end, I had to create those colors and patterns myself while staying within the framework of their original design.

|| produced by the Rude Mechanicals | performed October 2011 at the Off Center, Austin, TX | directed by Madge Darlington & Shawn Sides | original design: Tina Girouard, Steve Bennyworth, Thom Cathcart | Rude Mechanicals production lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Megan M. Reilly ||

by Rodgers and Hammerstein

|| produced by St. Edward's University | performed April 2011 at the Mary Moody Northen Theater, Austin, TX | directed by Michael McKelvey | scenic design by Lisa Laratta | costume design by Susan Branch Towne | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Megan M. Reilly ||

|| conceived by Katie Pearl | created by Katie Pearl & Megan M. Reilly | a peripheral project of HOW TO BUILD A FOREST, a durational performance installation conceived of by the performance-making team PearlDamour and created by PearlDamour & Shawn Hall || 

FORESTS-IN-STORAGE is a series of interactive installations in storage units across Austin and the country.  While the series exists, interested visitor-participants can find the location of active units via this website.  They will be able to contact the Caretakers to arrange for a visit.  After meeting a Caretaker at the space and receiving instructions, the visit itself will be completely self-moderated.

The forest found inside each storage unit will be unique to that locker – made of different materials and carrying its own aesthetic, design, and narrative logic.  Each will be brought to life by its visitor in a different way.  The imaginative leap this project requires allows guests to fully see and inhabit the stored forest, giving visitors the chance to live in an environment that exists in some future or other reality – perhaps one in which forests are mostly a memory and must be kept in storage lockers, manufactured from a mix of research, longing, and the materials on hand.

We intend for the experience to be playful, empowering, secret, and special.  Please take the time to enjoy.

For more information, images, and upcoming FORESTS, please go to http://forestsinstorage.com/

by Mikhail Bulgakov, adapted by Keith Reddin

|| produced by Tutto Theatre Company | performed June 2009 at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin, TX | directed by Dustin Wills | scenic design by Lisa Laratta | costume design by Kim H. Ngo | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Megan M. Reilly ||

|| B. Iden Payne Award nominee, Outstanding Lighting Design, 2009 ||

an installation and performance hybrid piece

|| produced by Divergence Vocal Theater | exhibited January 2010 at the Creative Research Lab, Austin TX | artistic direction and design by Misha Penton & Megan M. Reilly | video design by Megan M. Reilly | costume design by Misha Penton | words by Misha Penton | performed by Caroline Sutton Clark, Chase Crossno, Maimy Fong, Stephanie Ngo Hatchie, and Misha Penton | photography by Travis Bedard, Will Snider, and Megan M. Reilly ||

Transformations was a design-driven performance by Megan M. Reilly and Sarah Mosher, in collaboration with 15 artists from various disciplines from all over the country. 

I first approached Sarah Mosher about collaborating on a series of performance art pieces when I knew she was working on a master's thesis about women and costuming in fairy tales. I had already begun creating two pieces based on Anne Sexton's poetry and she was particularly interested in creating two others. With the main directing/creating/design team in place, I then approached other women artists about collaborating on the project. Each was given one of Anne Sexton's poems from her Transformations collection in order to create something in the medium of their choice that we would use in performance. LA singer/songwriter Terami Hirsch took on the poem "The Maiden Without Hands," and wrote an original piece of music, which was then handed to dancer Janna Rock, who in turn choreographed a solo dance to it. Filmmaker Julia Shackelford gave us a video piece inspired by "The Frog Prince." Eight year old Paige Vaillancourt created a giant finger painting for us to use, her parents sending us a video of her at work. The intention was to use the work of (primarily) female artists to examine the ideas in Sexton's work - the way in which we use these stories to create a narrative for womens' lives.

|| produced by Cambiare Productions | originally performed February 2008 at Salvage Vanguard Theatre, Austin TX | created and designed by Megan M. Reilly & Sarah Mosher in close collaboration with Travis Bedard, Kim Bird, Lynn Burnor, Kasey Glantz, Terami Hirsch, Amy Hopper, Amy Kersten, Jessica Kincer, Janna Rock, Julia Shackleford, Will Snider, Jonathan Sylvan, Paige Vaillancourt, and Liz Watts ||

|| Music in Her Kind video is Woods Part of When, by Noe Venable | used with permission ||

composed by Leonard Bernstein

|| produced by the Butler Opera Center at The University of Texas at Austin | performed February 2008 at the McCullough Theatre, Austin, TX | directed by Dr. Robert Desimone | scenic design by Evonne Griffin | costume design by Michael Hite | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Will Snider ||

written by Henrik Ibsen

|| produced by the University of New Hampshire Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed October 2007 at the Johnson Theatre, Durham, NH | directed by David Richman | scenic & costume design by Joan Williams Churchill | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Megan M. Reilly ||

a dance installation by Yvonne Boudreaux & Andee Scott

Portrait was a hybrid dance & installation piece conceived by Andee Scott & Yvonne Boudreaux and devised throughout the rehearsal process by Scott, Boudreaux, technical director Chih-Feng Chen, costume designer Jan McCauley, the dancers, and myself. We started with the idea of a table and chairs mounted perpendicularly to the back wall of a theater, and three sisters eating breakfast together, suspended so as to dance on the wall as if it were a floor.

The structure itself dictated much of what we created. We discovered during rehearsals what movement was possible, what was interesting, where we could put lights, and how the dancers might interact with design elements. During one rehearsal I brought in an overhead projector to demonstrate an idea I'd had - collaging a bizarre tree out of pieces of other trees. My "performance" collaging the tree (standing in the audience, hands visible on the projector) was incorporated into the live performance of the piece.

|| produced by the Cohen New Works Festival | originally performed April 2007 in the B. Iden Payne Theatre, Austin TX | created by Yvonne Boudreaux & Andee Scott | choreographed by Andee Scott | scenic design by Yvonne Boudreaux | costume design by Jan McCauley | lighting & projection design by Megan M. Reilly ||

|| World Stage Design Gallery Exhibition Selection, 2009 ||

inspired by Anne Sexton's "Rapunzel"

|| produced by the Cohen New Works Festival | originally performed April 2005 in the Sub-Brockett Bay Theatre, Austin TX | created, directed, and designed by Kim Gritzer & Megan M. Reilly | additional creative ideas by K. Samiee & Frank Vela ||

|| USITT Certificate of Excellence for Design as Performance, 2007 || exhibited at the Prague Quadrennial, June 2007 ||

a video installation

When I was a child I had a recurring experience which was too real to write off as "just a dream." Often these incidents would come after a particularly strange dream. I would wake up but be unable to move or breathe, and while I was lying "awake" in this paralyzed state I would continue to see pieces of the dream played out in my bedroom. The paralysis and hallucinations would only last for a few minutes; sometimes I would manage to fall back asleep, other times I was able to wake fully from the experience. My sister would often describe something similar, and for years we attributed these experiences to the particular room where this happened, writing it off as "haunted."

As an adult I learned about a phenomenon called "sleep paralysis." Sleep paralysis is a condition characterized by temporary paralysis before and after sleep, often accompanied by hallucinations. I was struck by how similar people's experiences were - hallucinations often centered around a malevolent presence either in the room or seated on the sleeper's chest, which accounted for the inability to breathe.

Sleep paralysis often plagues people during their childhood and goes away when they reach adulthood. This was the case with both my sister and me, and it was interesting to read an explantion for something we had attributed to a haunting. Our response was common - many UFO or ghost stories grow out of sleep paralysis incidents.

In "Frozen" I created clay masks from a plaster cast of my face (a terrifying experience in itself). Two of the masks were sculpted to represent my own experiences with this phenomenon  which often centered around my body being taken over and transformed into something else. One mask showed the face covered partially in branches, the other illustrated a face being taken over by a mechanical, metallic construction. The third mask was kept white and used as a projection surface. The video projection was a woman telling of her experiences with sleep paralysis. The moving image on top of the "frozen" white mask illustrated the feeling of being alive under the paralyzed exterior.

inspired by Anne Sexton's "Briar Rose"

With "Sleeping Beauty" I wanted to explore different threads woven together in my subconscious. After reading Sue Monk Kidd's "Dance of the Dissident Daughter," the concept of women being taught to be asleep throughout their lives stayed with me. At the time I created this piece, I was also undergoing hypnotherapy for treatment of chronic migraines. This piece is an exploration of that passive state, the idea of being bound in a state or to an idea, not fighting the binding but allowing it to happen.

"Sleeping Beauty" began as a walk through the woods. Actress Allison Whittinghill and I took a walk in April to take photos for the video. I was influenced by the use of still photography in the film "La Jetee," and wanted to do something similar, using still photos for the bulk of the video and moving images for key moments. These were edited together along with other images I created or altered. An image from a childhood book inspired the idea of a tree growing out of a book, though I wasn't sure if that was part of her dream or reality somehow intruding. Original music was composed for the piece by Kimberly Bird, student at USM.

Originally I thought about having the performer prune bonsai trees (a miniature, controlled version of the forest) and other botanical activities, but I wasn't happy with the piece as I saw it. I took inspiration from installation artist Midori's "Path-Web-Choice," in which the artist bound the gallery's visitors into the piece itself. I decided to use fabric to bind the performer in place as she fell asleep reading - we see her fall asleep live onstage, but she only wakes up in the video. The fabric was also to be used as a projection screen for the second video, a collage of plants growing and seeds sprouting. This worked more for added texture and movement, and a light source for the performer, than for the actual images in the video. After the dress rehearsal the fabric was replaced with ribbon. The ribbon was much easier to work with in performance and winding it on a "spindle" tied it in further with "Sleeping Beauty."

In 2008 "Sleeping Beauty" was resurrected to become part of "Transformations." To see images and video from that performance, 

written by Carson Kreitzer

|| produced by the University of Texas at Austin Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed October 2005 at the Oscar Brocket Theatre, Austin, TX | directed by Robi Polgar | scenic design by Yvonne Boudreaux | costume design by Laurel Brock | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Yvonne Boudreaux & Travis Bedard ||

UT Austin Dance Repertory Theatre

|| produced by the University of Texas at Austin Dept. of Theatre & Dance | performed April 2005 in the B. Iden Payne Theatre, Austin, TX | composed by Rob Deemer | choreographed by David Justin | scenic design by Chris Cox | costume design by Katy Conover | lighting design by Megan M. Reilly | photography by Candida K. Nichols ||

by Euripides

|| scene design and renderings by Megan M. Reilly for graduate classes Scene Design II and Scenic Rendering (spring 2006) | classes taught by Richard Isackes, Scott Kanoff, & Bob Schmidt | The University of Texas at Austin ||

by Tina Howe

|| scene design and renderings by Megan M. Reilly for graduate classes Scene Design I (fall 2005) and Scenic Rendering (spring 2006) | classes taught by Bob Schmidt | The University of Texas at Austin ||