Loch Ness

When we set out to make this brand new musical, we knew that the visual world of the play had to do a lot of heavy-lifting and storytelling. The Loch itself took on a deep, dark, and mysterious role in the plot, hiding the monster from sight and serving as a place of retreat and privacy. And yet, the musical is a comedy and couldn’t feel too heavy or morose. The lighting design walked this balance beam, creating highs and lows and using rich color to bring emotion out of the muck.

Plus, the script was very visually ambitious. It took several design passes and lots of exploration in the early stages of the process, but ultimately, we were able pull off seriously large-scale puppetry, characters playing scenes on, in, and underwater, sparking equipment, rapidly changing locations, and more all on a meager budget.

The use of atmospheric effects like low-lying fog was a key element that helped us create the mystery and depth of the loch. I worked with Paul to make sure the whole approach to the scenic design positioned us as well as possible to pull that effect off. On stage, it ended up paying off and made for some very magical visuals.