For The Next Times by Kinetic Light, my approach to projection design centered on accessibility as a creative driver. I developed visuals that operated at multiple viewing heights to ensure visual focus for the levels of focus the cast members occupied, while intentionally avoiding strobe-based effects in favor of smooth, continuous motion. The visual language combined found footage with custom GLSL shaders, creating an adaptive system that responded to the performers while remaining inclusive to audiences with diverse sensory needs. This process reflects my broader approach: designing immersive environments that prioritize embodiment, access, and responsiveness from the ground up.
Laurel Lawson, Alice Sheppard, Tatiana Cholewa are navigating across a dark stage with projections of illuminated ropes drawn down the stage and their bodies.The performers have disappeared into the silver towers which now wriggle, bounce, swirl, and shimmy — a flurry of fringe, feet, wheels, and mystery. The background swirls in purple, blue, and green. Photo: Cherylynn TsushimaThe Next TiMes © Cherylynn Tsushima | Laurel Lawson holds their body in a diagonal line as they balance atop Alice Sheppard’s wheels and shins. Alice supports from below as they lay back, arms and torso on the ground, hips lifted. Alice is a multiracial Black woman with short curly hair, Laurel is a white person with very short cropped hair; they both wear shimmery sleeveless bodysuits. Behind them, a projection of soft blues, purples, and greens looks like rain on a windowpane.The Next TiMes © Cherylynn Tsushima | Laurel Lawson holds a hoop which is reflected on a video projection behind her against a starry background.The Next TiMes © Cherylynn Tsushima | Kayla Hamilton stands on a reflective strip of silver, chin lifted as she arches her torso backwards, arms curved in front of her chest. Alice Sheppard sits on one end of the silver floor, torso folded into her own lap. Laurel Lawson lays on their back at the other end of the silver. Alice is a multiracial Black woman with short curly blonde hair; Kayla is a Black woman with shoulder length locs; Laurel is a white person with cropped hair. All three dancers wear dark shimmery bodysuits, a detailed video projection of a huge luminescent moon and a dense forest drenched in hues of cool blues and rich purples fills the background.Laurel Lawson lays flat on the floor and holds Alice Sheppard at the shins lifting her above in her wheel chair. Alice supports herself with her arms and makes eye contact with Laurel. Against the dancers is an innocous blue projection made with painted film.Laurel Lawson lifts a hoop that surrounds her. The background is a projection of a colorful aberration of a starscape.The Next TiMes © Cherylynn Tsushima | Four performers dressed in silver, with black caps, pause with their backs to the audience, three people in chairs and one standing. They gaze at four shimmering towers of silver fringe.Alice Sheppard leans on her crutches as she balances on one bent leg while lifting the other high. She leans forward, also balancing a silver hoop on her neck and shoulders, as she looks in the direction of the lifted leg, a mischievous expression on her face. Alice is a multiracial Black woman with magenta curly hair; she wears silver pants and a dramatic vest of black feathers. Behind her, Tatiana Cholewa sits on the floor in a silver hoop, bending at the waist and folding their body in half. Tati is a white person with very short hair, they wear a silver sleeveless pantsuit. Behind them both is a large flowing orange planet in a starry sky. Photo: Cherylynn Tsushimadffg