West Linn High School Performing Arts Dept.

The Trial

Set and Lighting Design (and Direction) by Jon Ares.

March 2018.

By Franz Kafka
Adapted by Kenneth Albers

Directed and Designed by Jon Ares, Sound Design by Dylan Jahnson, Costume Design by Elyse Grimaldi

Kafka’s “Kafka-esque” novel “The Trial” was excellently adapted to the stage by Kenneth Albers, and I wanted to ensure the dystopian feeling was communicated through the set, lighting, sound, and costume design.

Going for a sort of Cold War/East German vibe, Elyse’s costumes and Dylan’s incredible cinematic soundscape went very well with the “Brutalist” style of architecture of the set. Panels moved, were back-lit, and shadowy, steep lighting added to the “no way out” feeling of Kafka’s text.