I was Looking at the Ceiling… and Then I Saw the Sky, Composed by John Adams, Directed by Peter Sellars, Costumes by Dunya Ramicova

1995 World Premiere Tour: UC Berkeley, CA, Lincoln Center, N.Y; Festival de Theatre des Ameriques, Montreal; Edinburgh Festival, Scotland;

Helsinki Festival, Finland; MC 93 Bobigny, Paris; Thalia Theatre, Hamburg

This new opera was based on events following the 1992 L.A. earthquake when Angelinos of various ethnic and social backgrounds were forced together by this natural disaster. John Adams fused his contemporary composition style with elements of gospel, hip-hop and rock music.

 This was my first production with Mr. Sellars, and I was so impressed with his clear vision and dedication to the piece. He stayed with the tour, cutting, improving, and revising scenes all along the way. I was hired as the Wardrobe Head, but took on the role of Costumer when changes were made throughout the duration of the run. It was also my first European tour, and I loved the challenge of communicating with all the different theatre staff to get the show up and running in each country. Because we were on the road together for four months, I also honed my skills as counselor to the actors, smoothing their nerves and creating an atmosphere of harmony backstage.