IRVINE, California — University of California, Irvine’s (UCI) Claire Trevor School
of the Arts presented The Electra Project, famed Romanian director Mihai Maniutiu’s
reimagining of the classic Electra story. This stunning and avant-garde piece
followed Maniutiu’s minimalist style, using very little scenery to create a
provocative production. Under Maniutiu’s direction, Lighting Designer Martha Carter
and Scenic Designer Morgan Price brought this story to life. Carter used HARMANS’s
Martin Professional’s atmospheric effects to play on the audience’s emotions as the
titular character battles through her story. They used UCI’s existing JEM™ Glaciator
X-Stream and paired it with a JEM™ Ready 365 hazer which Martin loaned to the
students to help fill out their production

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The initial planning started with only a 15-page script and notes from Maniutiu to
have minimal scenery. While Carter and Price had their work cut out, they kept the
set simple, only creating a giant pendulum for the background. With just one major
piece of scenery, they had to look to other techniques to fill out their stage and
bring the audience into a world Maniutiu described as “being everywhere and nowhere”
with an ethereal feel. The lighting needed to create shadows, but the setting still
needed to be filled out. Carter decided to use low fog and haze effects to create
the mood the director wanted.

“In the end, the fog and haze really came together to create another character on
stage. It became the anger and frustration behind Electra’s struggles,” said Carter.
“We used the atmospheric effects during key parts of the play where there was a
feeling of depression or strength which helped emphasize the stillness we tried to
create in other moments without the fog. This contrast really helped pull the
audience into Electra’s world and to feel what she felt in those specific moments.”

Like other before them, the team had to learn the optimal conditions for atmospheric
effects. First, the conditions within their theater caused the fog to be pulled
stage right on some days and then stage left on other days. In the end, Carter and
her team were able to make the best of their theater’s quirks by making the fog seem
like it was originating from behind the pendulum. They also had issues with a wet
deck due to the low lying fog effect. The solution was to lower the intensity of the
fog and increase the density. They also only used the fog during key moments, which
added to its dramatic effect while allowing for safer conditions.

Students at UCI made up most of the team involved with the production including the
actors and designers. For them, it was an opportunity to learn tips from the Martin
team on how to overcome some of the challenges that come with atmospheric effects.
They were also delighted to be able to use one of the latest Martin products, the
JEM Ready 365 hazer. For Carter, being trusted with the latest equipment was
something unexpected, but something she felt enhanced the production immensely.

“The addition of the JEM Hazer added depth to the stage that would have otherwise
been sparse,” said Carter. “We were able to create the ethereal look the director
wanted because the haze added a light and airy feeling to the production.”

Martin Equipment List

JEM Glaciator X-Stream

JEM Ready 365 Hazer

MAC 700

Credits

Mihai Maniutiu: Director

Martha Carter: Lighting Designer

Morgan Price: Scenic Designer

Brian Svoboda: Sound Designer

Julie Carr: Costume Designer

Joe Forehand: Lighting Supervisor

Wes Chew: Master Electrician