The Nether | Jennifer Haley
In 2022, I directed a play named The Nether, a sci-fi crime drama written by Jennifer Haley, a talented playwright.
Set in the near future, the story explores the dark side of the virtual reality realms (based on what we have today—the Internet).
Director
- Did thorough scene and character analysis, then developed a concept and vision for how the play should be staged and interpreted as the main direction for all artistic decisions.
- Blocking and staging. Planned out where actors will move on stage, how they will interact with each other, and the other props and set pieces.
- Guiding and overseeing actors’ performances to help them understand and embody their characters throughout the rehearsal process.
- Collaborated with the production team, including producers, stage managers, and other designers, to ensure that the production come together cohesively.
- Responsible for realizing the artistic vision of the entire team for the production.
Click on the link below to take a look at some of the analyses I did for my thesis written in Mandarin Chinese. An English version of this is coming soon.
Working with designers
A snippet of the process of working with the designers of this production.
Challenges & Reflections
There were some challenges throughout the process, but I appreciate them teaching me invaluable lessons to improve my skills.
- Letting the actors develop the play directly with the designers, which was something I’d never done before.
- Creating the artificiality of the virtual world. Couldn’t come up with the best acting style for this production in time.
- Learning to build mutual trust between me and one of the actors.
Here is an in-depth explanation of the challenges that I wrote for my thesis written in Mandarin Chinese. An English version of this will be done by December 2023.