Blackbox
Written by Rickerby Hinds
Sound Designer: Jeremiah Tuner
Directed by Thomas Defrantz
Stage Manager: Johnny Macias
Costume Design: Landis York
Lighting Design: Ben Tusher
Scenic/Projection Design: David Tennet
University of California, Riverside Department of Theatre
2023-2024 Season
Artistic Direction
Blackbox follows the story of Henry Box Brown, a former slave who shipped himself to freedom. In collaboration with the playwright, we built a show that revolved around a magical realism aesthetic. Henry himself is a magician recanting his life for an audience. For the sound team, using music and thunderstorms, we wanted to sonically represent the successes, and failures, of Henry from a magical realism perspective. The thunderstorm can be heard throughout the show, and is a representation of the ever present oppression that Henry stuggles with in his life. The music is used nondiegeticlly as a representation of the characters' emotinal states, and used diegeticlly to place the audience into the middle of a magic show.
Magic Music
Throughout the show, Henry is attempting his grand trick of escaping out of the box. After all of the trials, tribulations, and lessons he learned in his life, he finally has the power he needs to successfully perform the trick.
Levitation Broken
In this scene, Henry is a preacher speaking to the audience about the struggles of black people in today's society. As he gets more passionate he begins to levitate off of the ground, up until it is insinuated that he is lynched. To which all of the momentum and sonic greadunr cease.
Rolling Thunder
In this transition, Henry has just failed, for the first time, to perform his escape trick.
