A Futuristic One-Act Drama: Look Me in the Eye

How do you decide when to respect authority and when to question the system? Teenagers in Look Me in the Eye by Lindsay Price learn about the dark side of the utopian vision in this haunting futuristic drama. Under the direction of Kelli Connors , the drama students at Noble High School in North Berwick, ME took great care to bring this futuristic vision to reality.

We were going for a futuristic look in the play since it takes place in a future society. We went for a very angular costume look with the people who have status. This is why Rea has very rigid straight lines with a flair at the bottom for youth and Rea has straight lines that are broken up by somewhat curvy lines, but curvy lines that are not predictable or necessarily symmetrical. She has an appliqué of the fabric from her pants on her shirt with a unpredictable wavy shape that is intersected by a metallic straight line. All characters have some sort of metallic feature to their costumes.

The set is meant to mirror this with sharp angles out of “metal” that has been riveted onto the walls or furniture. The only circular forms are the splatters on Vio’s pants and the set walls. These are reminiscent of blood splatters without being overly obvious in their color.

As for the boxes they stand on, they bring their signs in with them and choose a box to stand on for the observation. The stripes have to do with status and there is a slight shuffle between Rul and Vio when they first enter the room as to who gets the box with the most stripes.

We also added a multimedia element at the beginning of the play. A film plays on the monitor and talks about how we came to be the society we are now – a government propaganda film with voiceovers and underscoring. The film ends with an eye that watches them and moves with them which stays on the monitor through their time of observation. The Offense Officers are voices that are coming from above with a combination of sweeping spotlights and sirens. Every sound byte sounds electronic or automated…such as the opening of the box that holds the list, shown upstage of Vio in this first pic.

I use a sound of dripping water throughout the show that serves as an element of sensory overload for the audience as well as the heartbeat of the show. The performers and the audience feel the effects of this form of control.

Amazing job, Noble High School!