THE CAKE
City Lights Theater Company
City Lights Theater - San Jose, CA
Director: Lisa Malette
Asst. Director/Props: Karen S. Leonard
Lighting Designer: Sonya Wong
Scenic Designer/PM: Ron Gasparinetti
Costume Designer: Lonie Fullerton
Sound Designer: George Psarras
Stage Manager: Ben Hemmen
Asst. Stage Manager: Ezra Endamne-Wamba
Intimacy Coordinator: Bessie Zolno
The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter tells the story of Della, a bakery owner in North Carolina. When Jen, a girl she helped raise, comes back home to get married, Della is thrilled–until she learns that Jen is getting married to another woman, Macy. She can’t bring herself to bake Jen and Macy’s wedding cake, and she is forced to examine her deeply-held beliefs as well as her own marriage with her husband Tim, which has long lost its intimacy. The lighting for this play helped give insight into how the characters were feeling; through the use of color and intensity, the lighting design helped guide the audience into feeling the same emotions as the characters, particularly when there were swells of emotion and when the characters were feeling strong emotions when alone. A shattered breakup texture was also used to embody both Della and Jen’s inner turmoil and conflict between what feels true and right to them versus what they have been conditioned to believe.