top of page
Photo by Matthew Dunnivan
Photo by Carol Rosegg
Columbia University, October 2022
Through a series of explosive exchanges, Stephen Adly Guirgis’s Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven shows the effects of displacement on a group of women seeking refuge at a government-funded shelter. The production focused on individuals left out of society’s fabric and how they persevere in a system that works against them.
Working in collaboration with director Lisa Benavides-Nelson, we focused on saturating the play with the ever-present sounds of the Upper West Side - the 1 train, the environment of Riverside Park, busses and car horns, and barking dogs - many of which I recorded around the Columbia campus the play was produced in. There was a strong focus on breaking down the audience’s perception of “the outside world” as something separate from what they see on stage.
Musically, we focused on mirroring the spirit of the play’s characters and settled on hip-hop/Nu-Soul artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and other instrumental pieces that helped move the play from scene to scene. A central theme, Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” plays in Spanish through a boombox in the pre-show and projected robustly by Sharon Jones for the crowd during curtain call.
Directed by Lisa Benavides-Nelson. Scenic by Andreea Mincic. Lighting by Liz Schweitzer.
Costumes by Rachel Dozier-Ezell. Props by Liv Rigdon.
The opening moments of the play, where we hear construction and the sounds of the Upper West Side.
A sample of the "Riverside Park at Night" soundscape.
00:00 / 01:04
00:00 / 01:04
bottom of page