THE UGLY ONE

MARIUS VON MAYENBURG

YALE CABARET 2013

In Von Mayenburg's play, a hideously ugly man gets plastic surgery and becomes beautiful, successful and sought after. When his surgeon begins to patent the surgery, copies of the man's new face begin to appear on his neighbors and friends, and his status begins to slip, until he starts to question his very identity and individuality. Director Cole Lewis wanted to lean into Von Mayenburg's provocations about beauty and ugliness by creating a world that was, to our eyes, grotesque as the characters talked about how lovely it was. The play moves fluidly from office to doctor's operating room to home to hotel conference room. We used three platforms to indicate different spaces, hung a drop ceiling with fluorescent lights over the center platform, and painted the wall of the theater behind the playing area a garish mustard. Mirrors covered the existing windows of the theater. There was a translucent projection screen hidden in the drop ceiling that was used for grotesque shadow surgeries, video presentations, and a scene that takes place in an elevator.

Directed by Cole Lewis

Set Design: Reid Thompson

Costume Design: Soule Golden

Lighting Design: Benjamin Ehrenreich

Projection Design: Nick Hussong

Sound Design: Steve Brush and Tyler Kiefer

Photographs: Nick Thigpen