After All the Terrible Things I Do
About Face at Theatre Wit, Playwright A. Rey Pamatmat, Director Andrew Volkoff, Starring Lisa Tejero and Colin Sphar, Scenic Designer Chelsea M. Warren, Costume Designer Bob Kuhn, Lighting Designer Jared Gooding, Sound Designer Chris Kriz, Property Master Jenny Pinson
2016 Jeff Award Nomination for Mid Size Scenic Design
CRITICAL RESPONSE BELOW
CRITICAL RESPONSE:
Stage and Cinema’s Lawrence Bommer: “Awesomely authentic, Chelsea M. Warren’s setting for after all the terrible things i do isn’t just a character in itself—it’s a cast. This designer has perfectly constructed the cluttered interior of an independent bookstore in a small Midwestern town. Comfortable chairs are set out for browsing. There’s a green banker’s lamp on the counter and a floor lamp in a nook. The packed shelves are lit from behind to suggest secrets to share or hide. Warren’s cozy retreat is also an old-school oasis of civilization. It’s so believable that you can’t imagine that Theater Wit’s Stage Three ever had or will have another set. – See more at: http://www.stageandcinema.com/2016/03/19/after-all-the-terrible-things-i-do/#sthash.scPHYApy.dpuf”
Chicago Tribune’s Kerry Reid: “Chelsea M. Warren’s richly detailed set creates a cozy bibliophilic nest, though what seems like a safe retreat for Daniel becomes more fraught as he and Linda bond over past grief and guilt.”
Windy City Times' Jonathan Abarbanel: “Sphar and Tejero play big under director Andrew Volkoff and tear into this chewy material, powering through the play’s coincidences. Tejero channels every dragon lady role she’s played into stiletto-sharp attack, always cagey and sometimes ferocious. Sphar, superficially a blander character, parries each thrust and rises to Tejero’s considerable energy level. They comfortably inhabit Chelsea M. Warren’s cozy, perfect bookstore set.”
Third Coast Review’s Brent Eickhoff: “Chelsea Warren’s scenic design is detailed and lived in, complete with towering wooden bookcases and a bulletin board advertising fall festivals and lost cats. The bookstore has a certain familiarity to it; I was reminded of Wicker Park’s Myopic Books when I first took a seat in the theater. While realistic, the height of the bookcases’ architecture also provides a wonderful canvas for expression in moments when Jared Gooding’s lighting design transforms the space with luminous blues and reds. Even subtle details like the three featured books on display downstage left (Deepak Chopra’s Path to Love, Anita Shreve’s Light on Snow and Tony Earley’s Jim the Boy) serve to reinforce the play’s concerns with love, memory and coming-of-age.”
Chicago Theatre Beat’s Catey Sullivan: “Director Andrew Volkoff shapes all the terrible things i do into a compelling, provocative evening of theater. The production looks fantastic: Set designer Chelsea Warren’s bookstore is so enticing and detailed you’ll want to hang around after the curtain call to browse. Jared Gooding’s light design reinforces the shifting moods and increasing menace that propels the plot.”
Time Out’s Kris Vire: “Staged by About Face artistic director Andrew Volkoff on Chelsea M. Warren’s cozy bookstore set, after all the terrible things i do, like O’Hara’s “Poem,” is a quietly evocative consideration of forgiveness.”
ShowBix Chicago’s Stacey L. Crawley: “Chelsea Warren’s realistic set design creates a cozy atmosphere, giving the audience a chance to relax. You feel as if you’re peering into the window of the bookstore, watching the story unravel with surprising twists and turns.”
Chicago Critic’s Jacob Davis: “The small bookstore, meticulously designed by Chelsea M. Warren and supplied with props by Jenny Pinson, is cozy, intriguing, and obviously alluring to an aspiring novelist like Daniel.”
Around the town chicago’s Alan Bresloff: “The play starts out in the bookstore ( a wonderful set designed by Chelsea M. Warren, that leaves no detail out) that is owned by Linda (a strong performance by Chicago favorite Lisa Tejero).”