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 Chris Plevin has worked in production at Chicago Shakespeare Theater since 2003. As the head of the production department, he oversees all aspects of design, fabrication, and safety onstage and backstage for CST. He hires and coordinates the work of the guest designers and oversees the heads of the design departments—scenery, lighting, costumes, wigs, sound, properties, and special effects.
"The production process to support our World’s Stage projects that reside outside Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s four walls in Navy Pier’s public spaces is an intensely collaborative one. This past year we have hosted two artistic spectacle troupes from France, and with both last summer’s visit by Compagnie Transe Express and this summer’s performance by Ilotopie, we are engaged in an intricate series of discussions and negotiations with Navy Pier, the City of Chicago—and this time with the Department of Homeland Security.
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photo courtesy Jer Min Kok
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"Massive spectacle events like this (especially ones involving explosives as does Ilotopie’s Water Fools...) aren’t common here in the U.S., and therefore there is a vocabulary that we and our partners (on both sides of the Atlantic) are working together to develop as we go along, problem-solving the process of importing a very different form of cultural art. During the summer months, the area surrounding Navy Pier is a major waterway for both commercial and private boat traffic. Turning a portion of Lake Michigan into an aquatic stage for a collection of flame-spewing actors and watercraft takes months of careful planning in order to ensure that everyone—the actors, technicians, and audience—safely enjoy the experience. Plans have been under discussion for months, and in the four weeks remaining before the cargo ship arrives from France with these 44 watercraft onboard, we will finally begin putting them into action."
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