Stinney: An American Execution
|
Composed by Frances Pollock
Director: Jenna Tamisiea Elser Scenic Designer: DJ Pike Lighting Designer: Kaylin Gess Costume Designer: M. Hromek Projection Design: Tate E. Thompson Projection Design: Josh J. Mullady |
Stinney: An American Execution is a haunting opera focusing on the emotional impact of the Stinney case rather than its historical accuracy. George Stinney Jr. has been wrongly accused for a crime that he did not commit. But because of the color of his skin, the side of the tracks the little girl's bodies were found on, and because George was the last one to see them alive, he is automatically accused of their murder. He is then tortured until he confesses, threatened to keep quiet, and eventually sentenced to death by electrocution for these crimes. Making him the youngest individual to be sentenced to death in the 20th century. The composer takes the standard convention of opera and expands it further in Stinney by utilizing Expressionism. The opera rejects realism and employs dreamlike or sometimes nightmarish atmospheres focusing on commentary.
When researching this opera, the most striking and haunting image I came across was the photo taken after all the electricity had surged through George’s body for two full minutes. Causing a ripping scar to form on the side of his head. The amount of energy that they surged through this poor young man's body, mimics the energy of hate this town had for the people on the other side of the track.
I chose to embrace this scar into the scenic design. Placing it center of the action and angling the rest of the elements of the set into a forced perspective that would make you notice this jaring ripped scar. The locations within this Opera took place in Alcolu, South Carolina. A lumber and mill town that was divided by a track, separating the blacks from the whites. The slatted walls are reminiscent of the paneled houses within this town. They also mimic the fragmented state this town was in and the scar in George’s head.
When researching this opera, the most striking and haunting image I came across was the photo taken after all the electricity had surged through George’s body for two full minutes. Causing a ripping scar to form on the side of his head. The amount of energy that they surged through this poor young man's body, mimics the energy of hate this town had for the people on the other side of the track.
I chose to embrace this scar into the scenic design. Placing it center of the action and angling the rest of the elements of the set into a forced perspective that would make you notice this jaring ripped scar. The locations within this Opera took place in Alcolu, South Carolina. A lumber and mill town that was divided by a track, separating the blacks from the whites. The slatted walls are reminiscent of the paneled houses within this town. They also mimic the fragmented state this town was in and the scar in George’s head.
