SHANE HENNESSY
LIGHTING DESIGNER

MARISOL BY JOSÉ RIVERA IS AN EPIC PLAY, SET AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM. THE PLAY FOLLOWS MARISOL PEREZ, A YOUNG PUERTO RICAN WOMAN WHOSE GUARDIAN ANGEL HAS JUST TOLD HER SHE IS LEAVING MARISOL TO GO LEAD THE REBELLION AGAINST A SENILE GOD. WE FOLLOW MARISOL THROUGH SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTS AS SHE REALIZES THE DANGER OF THE WORLD THAT SHE IS LIVING IN WITHOUT THE PROTECTION OF HER GUARDIAN ANGEL. ACT 1 SEES MARISOL IN RECOGNIZABLE LOCATIONS, AND THE LIGHTING SHOULD FEEL FAMILIAR AND SOURCE BASED THROUGH THE MANY PRACTICALS EMBEDDED IN THE SET. THE ONLY UNFAMILIARITY SHOULD COME FROM THE ANGEL, WHOSE APPEARANCE BRINGS A MAGICAL HEAT TO THE SPACES SHE INHABITS. 

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ACT 2 OF MARISOL TAKES PLACE IN A WORLD WRACKED BY ANGELIC WAR. THE TIME FOR PEACE HAS ENDED, AND BECAUSE OF THIS WAR, THE WORLD HAS BEEN THROWN 90° OFF OF ITS AXIS. THE STYLE OF THE PLAY AND LIGHTING SHIFTS, THE CONCEPT BEING THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO FIND A FAMILIAR SOURCE OF LIGHT IN THIS DESOLATE, CHANGED PLACE. AT THE END OF THE PLAY, MARISOL'S GUARDIAN ANGEL APPEARS FRON THE UPSTAGE WALL, AND AS SHE ENTERS A PAR WALL BLAZES WITH LIGHT AS A ROCK AND ROLL SCORE SINGS THE VICTORY OF THE ANGELS AND THE HUMANS OVER THE SENILE GOD. THE PLAY ENDS WITH MARISOL OFFERING THE CROWN TO THE AUDIENCE, AND THE PAR WALL ENVELOPING THEM IN A BLINDING LIGHT.