For an acclaimed production of Brazilian playwright Nelson Rodrigues' THE ASPHALT KISS, lighting designer Traci Klainer conjured a distinctively noirish vision of Rio de Janeiro in a black box space at 59E59 Theater in New York.

Rodrigues' play proves that no good deed goes unpunished, and in tandem with set designer Lauren Helpern she caught its protagonist in a downward spiral. ETC Source Fours and Altman R40 striplights were the basic building blocks. "We had a very limited budget and inventory with which to create this space and move to the play's many different locations," says Klainer, who received a Drama Desk nomination for the show.

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Rosco I-Cue


"This comes at the very beginning of the show. Lauren and I spent a great deal of time with the rest of the design team and the director, Sarah Sunde, discussing the possibilities of large shadows on the walls, almost like in dance lighting to sculpt out the space. This sets up the idea of this film noir mystery as to who these characters are, with light that reveals them, but also surrounds them. The yellow (Rosco 12) informs the audience from the start that they are never truly going to be in a state of reality. My job is to tell the story, and in this case I enhanced the storytelling by being bold in how I worked with the set. It's all about the brushstrokes, and here I was using a big brush."


"This is a key dramatic and intimate moment, where the protagonist tells his wife about the accident that has set the show in motion. Rosco 80 is perfect for a night scene like this--not too green and not too red. It's a blue that will stand up to the other light around it for an evening look that encompasses the two characters with a rich blue."


"My goal with Lauren was to create a blank canvas on which to change color and texture that moves us to each place in the play. In a show that some of the cues only had one light and some striplights, this was so important for us. The thatched gobo suggests the warm South American climate. It's based in reality, but it's also abstracted, a little off-sharp and takes up the whole wall. I chose Rosco 99 because it's a warm yet not a truly realistic color, and is more neutral than the Rosco 321 and Rosco 80 that I used elsewhere. For another sequence, in a church at a funeral, we did an abstracted church window, and to change the atmosphere I used the R321. R321 is just so beautiful and sunset-like, and when I create lighting for cycs it just takes over the white fabric in such a rich way."


"I'm the biggest fan you could have of the Rosco I-Cue. We had two on the show and they were in use throughout. In this scene members of the press are interviewing the protagonist about the accident, and flashbulbs are going off. The I-Cues were focused on the central character to create a tight space that was surrounded by color. We didn't have moving lights or enough conventional fixtures for the multiple specials that were needed in the show, so the I-Cues were used specifically for this purpose. In this scene the I-Cues became a part of this flashbulb moment, they captured the main character in a moment of the chaos-a deer caught in the headlights for just a few seconds."






Traci Klainer's work encompasses many worlds: theatre, dance, musicals, opera, events and exhibits among them. (In addition to her theatre career, www.traciklainer.com, she's a partner in design firm Luce Group, www.lucegroup.com, whose diverse clientele has included MTV, the NYC2012 Olympics Bid Committee, and the Nantucket Whaling Museum.)

NY theatre credits include: THE ASPHALT KISS (59E59, Drama Desk nomination); the Broadway production of PRUNE DANISH starring Jackie Mason (Royale Theatre); FOUR (MTC, Lucille Lortel nomination); THE CURSE (Soho Playhouse); DOV AND ALI (Cherry Lane); SAND (Julia Miles Theatre); SEALED FOR FRESHNESS (New World Stages); BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY (MTC); 2 GIRLS FOR 5 BUCKS (Ars Nova); ECHOES OF THE WAR (Mint Theatre); DRAGAPELLA (Upstairs Studio 54); and the 92nd Street Y Gala 2006-2009. Regional theatre credits include: Hartford Stage, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, The Prince Music Theatre, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Capital Repertory, City Theatre, Charlotte Repertory, Adirondack Theatre Festival, George Street Playhouse, and Act II Playhouse.

Traci is also a partner in the design firm Luce Group, which specializes in architectural, exhibit and event lighting design. Luce's credits include: President Lincoln's Cottage in Washington D.C.; A New Light on Tiffany: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Girls at the New York Historical Society; NYC2012's presentation to US and International Olympic Committees at the Queens Museum of Art; and the Nantucket Whaling Museum. Current projects include the renovations at the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg and consulting on several areas at Discovery Place in North Carolina.