Abstract - Kaitlyn Mulligan and Kathryn Squitieri

This paper provides documentation of the design process for the Fall 2008 Brooklyn College Theatre Department’s production of Stephen Adly Gurgis’s Jesus Hopped the A Train, using an array of images collected during the run of the production to create a visual record of the process, from the first production meeting to opening night. As a part of the curriculum for the undergraduate BFA Theatre Design program, the authors were assigned the set design (Kaitlyn Mulligan) and the costume design (Kathryn Squiteiri). The play centers on Angel, a young man who is being held in the protective custody ward of Riker’s Island after shooting the leader of a religious cult.  For much of the action, he is confined in a rooftop exercise cage adjacent to that of Lucius, a repentant serial killer on death row who has found God since his arrest and conviction. Lucius’s daily sermons begin to conflict with the strategy of Angel’s attorney, Mary Jane, who is convinced that Angel should commit perjury to be cleared of his charges. Theatre is an art form that makes a statement or asks questions about existence in a live, immediate fashion.  In particular, Jesus Hopped the A Train raises serious questions about good and evil, right and wrong, and the quality of our country’s incarceration and judicial systems.  As artists, it was our responsibility to conduct the intensive research that was necessary to create a product that did justice to the real-life people and conflicts the text addresses, all while giving our audience members a memorable experience. Theatre should be educational for the audience members, cast and production team.  Each play demands the discovery of an unfamiliar world.  Arthur Miller’s The Crucible requests an understanding of New England in the late 1600s and the historical Salem Witch Trials, while Anton Chekov’s The Seagull requires knowledge of Russian politics and sociology in the late 1800s.  It is imperative that the ideas and images from these specific times and places be understood because the play’s underlying themes are presented within these contexts.  Many times, the extent of our research stretches far beyond the apparent requirements of the play.  Jesus Hopped the A Train asked us to understand the penal colony of Riker’s Island in order to accurately represent the context of the play, and subsequently, the themes. The word play originates from the Western Germanic word plagian, meaning “to exercise, frolic, or perform music,” and because this word is so central to the profession, it would be easy to regard theatre itself as a kind of play. Although theatrical productions can be a lot of fun, there is a tremendous amount of work involved. Creating a piece of art that makes the audience think is the direct result of a hard-working production team, as this paper documents. 

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