Corktown, Or Through the Valley of Dry Bones

By Jeff Augustin

Michigan State University, Lansing, MI - 2022

Director: Chamara Kwakye, Assistant Director: Ural Grant, Lighting Design: Nicklas Casella, Scenic Design: Kasee Arnett, Media Design: Erin R., Sound Design: Lucas Nunn, Costume Design: Gabriela Castillo, Properties Assistants: Ariana Moreno and Vee Rose, Stage Manager: Rachel Kramer, Dramaturgy: Basil Winters

Jackee, a fabulous fourteen-year-old-boy, takes us on a tour of one of Detroit’s oldest neighborhoods between 2007 and 2034. From the neighborhood’s urban blight to the gentrified renaissance, Corktown chronicles the life cycle of a city, affected by and affecting the lives of its residents. This tale filled with gospel music, graffiti, and organic coffee shows how—even when the music gets turned down, the graffiti is painted over, and the streets become safer—there’s a beating heart in a place’s history that can’t be erased.

Lighting concept: Corktown shows a city changing over the course of 27 years as it is gentrified. At the beginning I used saturated colors and texture to represent the vibrant culture of the community. As the city is gentrified, I took that color and texture away, creating a flat, white image to visually show the change over time.

Photos by Nicklas Casella