Bringing magic to the stage has been Teller's specialty for decades, but in his recent re-imaging of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," he has brought it in a new way. The typically silent half of the Penn & Teller duo, Teller recently collaborated with a host of other artists and creative personalities to bring "The Tempest" to the stage again in Cambridge, Massachusetts, partnering with Aaron Posner on the adaption and direction of the play. Teller, working with long-time consultant Johnny Thompson, also directed all of the magic in the show.
"Putting magic at the center of a play about a magician doesn't seem like that radical a choice," Posner told WBUR, Boston-based NPR affiliate. "But in the history, at least the modern history of producing 'The Tempest,' it is a radical choice."
The lighting of a show often contributes to how the directors convey magic to the audience, Posner noted. Gobo lighting effects shift color and light across the stage in unique ways that traditional lighting cannot accomplish. However, they chose to take "The Tempest" a step further with "real" magic performed on stage. Thompson told the news source that they didn't want to simply include the magic of the show in their adaption, they wanted to use it to enhance and further the exposition of the work.
Lighting design of "The Tempest" was done by Christopher Akerlind, a Tony nominee for his work on "Porgy and Bess," "110 in the Shade" and many other Broadway shows.
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