This production was directed by Karen Mitchell, assisted by Cheryl
Cantwell. In the early design meetings with the three of us, the words
"Fragments of Salieri's mind" kept coming up, and thus the set became as old and
musty as the corners of Salieri's head.... The walls were covered with wrinkly kraft
paper, and toned with layers of grays and browns. The shards of walls, with remnants
of moulding underneath, were almost like they had been packed up in wrapping paper and
stored.
The costumes were designed by Cheryl Cantwell, and my lighting design utilized steep
lighting angles, to create a sense of creepy mood, as Salieri and his Venticelli moved
from pool to pool of cool light. The colours in the lights were basically all Lee
202 fronts, with Rosco 67 as backs. This colour correction on the lights created a
virtually 'white' light, which played on Cheryl's blues. The palace had garish golds
splashing around, thus keeping Salieri's lighting rather cold.