Everybody was a super tricky show as a first-time designer, as it's so abstract and Brechtian. Chloe Cobb really too to Kristina's idea of a museum for the setting - this helped give Cobb a clear place to start. Initially, we thought about going in more of a modern art direction, but in the initial director's meeting there was mention of Gothic architecture and potential for a transforming set. Cobb's research into Gothic architecture was really stunning, and she started orienting her design around that. Cobb notes, "I think there's something almost spiritual about Gothic architecture--very reminiscent of a cathedral while, at the same time, evoking feelings of being in a historical building or museum. I think that this show is almost a religious experience, and I found direction for that impulse in the design we ended up pursuing."

Cobb really enjoyed gaining confidence throughout the process of this show, and was grateful for the guidance and patience of her mentors as she made mistakes and took risks. There were many special moments throughout the design process, but Cobb says, "I think one of my favorites was getting to see actors' reactions to the set that they would be performing on. I also enjoyed working with my fellow designers and the lovely shop workers that helped to make my vision a reality. Overall, this was a really lovely collaborative process full of incredibly talented and hardworking people, and I am so grateful for this opportunity as a designer for the first time!"

With this design, Jenna Jacobsen wanted to emphasize uniqueness and community. Each costumes leans on the idea that we all have our own personal flair. With the Somebody costumes, they are all very personalized to the actors' individual styles, but they are brought together by color and accessories, communicating that they are part of a community.

The designs developed from conversations with Kristina (Director) and Connie (Costume Mentor), reading the script, and creating a look book. Designing the characters who were embodied concepts or feelings challenged Jacobsen initially, but referring to various cultures to compare their interpretations of Love or Death, for instance, helped spark ideas for those costume designs.

Costume fittings with each actor was Jacobsen's favorite part of the design process: "It was fun to meet every one of them. They are all so nice and were so excited to see their costumes. It was nice to see the costume come together on the person."

For Henry Beach there was a distinct theme of broken reality that the design and directing team shared from the beginning of the process that we focused on in this show. This brokenness and being lost in time was the direct approach the design team collaborated with and guided us through the production process, blurring the lines between a state we are familiar with and the nightmare Everybody endures. Beach's favorite moments throughout this process were the combined emphasis on these themes - the presence of G*D, Love's cathartic humiliation of Everybody, and the danse to the grave. These moments coincided with intense collaborations between lighting, sound, and media.

The lighting design for Everybody centers the relationship between death and the unknown. Designer Dawson Buckholz, loves the feeling of walking into a space for the first time and not knowing what's going to happen: "I wanted to emphasize in the ABCD scenes the darkness and the sense that you really don't know what's going on." Another example of that uncertainty shows up with the immersive nature of the audience in Everybody, something that the lighting design helps to communicate.

With regard to the concept of death, the unknown becomes essential to Buckholz's interpretation, "I don't know what death is. I wanted to emphasize what death might feel like in lights." This shows up in the use of saturated colors in the lighting design. Buckholz wanted to use color to communicate the feeling of an experience you've never had before. Each scene uses a deep dive into a different color - an orange for friendship, a magenta for family, a cyan for the stuff that you own.

Buckholz's favorite moment in the show is the end of the humiliation scene. It's a powerful moment that gives Buckholz goosebumps. Lighting in this moment helps support and sculpt the staging as Everybody comes to terms with the fact that they are dying, "coming to terms with the things you've done in life, the people you've disappointed, that you've hurt. It really comes full circle. That moment is strong because I use a lot of colors to represent this feeling of a deep dive into every single emotion you could feel." In this way, Buckholz gives color to death which perhaps gives a warmer feeling to that moment.