Ride the Cyclone

Background

Ride the Cyclone is a darkly whimsical musical about six teens from Uranium City, Saskatchewan, who die in a roller coaster accident and find themselves in limbo. Guided by a fortune-telling automaton named Karnak, the teens must each tell their story to compete for a chance to return to life. Each character shares their story through song, revealing personal fantasies, regrets, and identities in a liminal space between life and death.

Design Overview

For this production, I served as media designer. The scenic environment featured a broken roller coaster track suspended above the stage. I designed a flexible projection system incorporating front and rear projection, and worked closely with Scenic Designer Courtney O’Neill and Lighting Designer Lee Fiskness to integrate a large translucent scrim. This shared design surface provided a clear scenic space for key media moments, lighting washes and effects without the need for a dedicated screen built into the scenography.

My media contributions, included but were not limited to, a fantasy life sequence rendered with flickering film textures and warm red lighting to evoke vintage cinema; a surreal romantic montage for Mischa; a music video-style projection; a segment that sends the characters spinning through space; and a series of fantasy vignettes that visualize the teenagers’ inner worlds. A key media moment comes in a five-minute documentary-style sequence that traces a character’s life from birth to old age. Developed in close collaboration with Director Leda Hoffman, this piece serves as the emotional climax of the production deepening the audience’s connection to the character’s journey.

The production was recognized as Local Production of the Year by The Jebby Awards.