Next to Normal
Citadel Theatre/Theatre Calgary Co-production

Director: Ron Jenkins
Set and Costume Designer: Cory Sincennes
Lighting Designer: Michael Walton

*Awarded a Sterling Award: for Outstanding Scenic Design

....Cory Sincennes' multi-level set beautifully bridges the gap between reality and dreamscape as does Michael Walton's atmospheric lighting. TC's Next to Normal is so achingly beautiful because it is so real, so uncompromising and unflinchingly honest.... Louis Hobson ,Calgary Sun, 2012

...Their pain is splayed out on a snazzy metallic design, by Cory Sincennes, that’s like an anatomy of a house that isn’t a home and might actually be a prison. It’s a sleek and apt evocation of loss and grief, as lit by anger, in lurid rock show fashion (designer: Michael Walton).  Liz Nichols,The Edmonton Journal,2012

Amidst themes of family ties and mental illness, the plot speaks to profound grief and the difficulties associated with loss. Cory Sincennes's set design brilliantly compliments this. Blended into the two-storey household stands a glass wall used to separate the main characters from the lingering aspects of their grief—the source of which is a major surprise twist in the show. The results of separating the home in such a visual manner were quite captivating and caused the definitive nature of the house to shift relentlessly between "home" and "cage."...Saliha Chatto, Vue Magazine, 2012

At its heart, the family’s dysfunctions stem from miscommunication and their attempts to cover up painful realities. The set design complements these ideas, and in the same way that the play examines the framework of the family, the metal set separating the stage represents the framework of the house. These different levels allow the characters to be physically disconnected from each other, yet still appear as part of the complete family. Separate from the house lies an unknown realm of forgetfulness, represented by a glass wall lining the back of the stage. During the production, the wall opens to reveal a bright, heaven-like space filled with fog, beckoning Diana to disappear into the depths of forgetting with great effect....Annie Pumphry, Gateway Edmonton,2012