She Kills Monsters
The Lawrenceville School, May 2026
Director: Matthew Campbell
Scenic Design: Matthew Campbell
Costume Design: Jamie Cuthrell
Lighting Designer: Anton Popowitz
Technical Director: Anton Popowitz
As a high school Senior, I was the lighting designer for The Lawrenceville School’s production of She Kills Monsters. Additionally, I was the Master Electrician and Technical Director, taking up the role of a faculty member who was on leave during the show. I was the sole student on the design team.
To see my final lighting plot, click here.
To see my Master Electrician paperwork, click here.
The game store: I used warm light to separate the game store from the black void around it. By keeping this scene small, I was able to make the fantasy scenes feel bigger and more grand, showing Agnes's freedom to explore in the D&D world.
Agnes & Chuck in the bedroom: I lit the bedroom with a softer, more naturalistic look to anchor at least one part of the show in reality. At the same time, I highlighted Chuck as he tells the story.
Into D&D: As Agnes begins to enter the fantasy world, I shifted away from realism. I contrasted a bold cool alley on the floor with isolated areas of warm light in the bedroom to show the split between reality and imagination.
The standard D&D look: This was one of the main fantasy looks for the show. I used warm textured light across the floor paired with box booms. One side of the stage was a pink (R35) and the other was a lavender (R55). This created a world that felt fantastical with softer visibility on the actors, to create a world that felt magical but still allowed the audience to clearly see the actors in dialogue-heavy scenes.
Orcus: I used a tight, warm special to highlight Orcus and his mace. This helped give the character a more dramatic entrance and made the weapon feel larger and more important.
The Narrator: I lit the Narrator with cool front light and left the action in the background in blue gobos. high-contrast light and shadow from the surrounding scenery. The sharper angle helped separate him from the rest of the stage and gave the moment a more theatrical, storybook quality.
The map of New Landia: The director and I decided to have the map be represented with a gobo. The bright pink of the map helped pull focus to the map while keeping the rest of the scene lit in warm gobos.
Vera’s Office: I lit Vera’s office with a small, warm, realistic look to contrast with the fantasy scenes, similar to what I did with the apartment. The tight focus on the office made the scene feel boxed-in and ordinary, which helped distinguish it from the larger D&D world.
The fight with Farrah the Fairy: For this fight, I used saturated and clashing colors like green and pink along with forest textured gobos to make the space feel energetic and chaotic. In this specific moment, Tilly is casting a spell while Chuck narrates on the side.
Agnes & Tilly talk while chuck (in the apartment) voices Tilly's lines. This scene is meant to show how Agnes has started fully inhabit D&D as a fantasy and is looking touch with reality
Solo Moments: In small solo moments, I used tight circular top lights and neutral colored front lights that were shuttered to match the lines on the floor.
Right before the Tiamat fight: I used bright backlight to silhouette the characters as they circle Agnes. This look took what I have established as D&D and intensified it.
Tiamat is revealed: For the Tiamat Fight sequence, we split the main center unit in half and flew out the tab at the back of the stage. This revealed vertical batten lights from which the Tiamat emerged from.
Tiamat fight: The lighting for the fight was bold and bright. I contrasted cool gobos with a brilliant red blinding light. Additionally, a soft top light allowed the action to be seen clearly.