Scenic Design by Carrie Mullen

It’s world premiere performance took place in May 2007 in the Mondavi Studio Theatre at UC Davis.  The play follows the journey of Ruby, a recent heart transplant recipient.  Ruby finds herself going through a supernatural journey to find out why her new heart is causing her to feel strange emotions and sensations.  Shadow puppetry, as well as supernatural, diety characters, show the meaning of life and death through many different centuries and cultures.  In a black box theatre, the set needed to be able to change into over 30 settings and continually return to the hospital room.  Much of the story is told through shadow puppetry, and so nearly all the surfaces of the set were projection screens.  The rolling screens allow the space to change into different settings, and create a neutral white surface for the lighting designer to saturate with color.  A boat, part Egyptian and part Venetian, which moves around the edge of the stage, allows Ruby to be transported to Venice as well as the Egyptian after-life.