Lauren Connolly
Lauren is a Set and Costume Designer for performance. In her final year at Nottingham Trent University, Lauren was awarded the Birmingham Opera Prize for her designs of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Her prize was the opportunity to be Assistant Designer to Richard Hudson on Birmingham Opera Company’s 2018 premiere of Wake.
Lauren has designed for Imagine Luton Watford Palace Theatre, Laced Within Our Borders, NGYT; Rise of the Shadow Stealers Suitcase and Spectacles; The Electrifying Body EMCCAN/Nottingham Playhouse and Oedipus the King Lakeside Arts Nottingham.
As assistant designer she has worked on In the Night Garden Live Minor Entertainment; Enchanted Island British Youth Opera; The Magic Flute Macerata Opera Festival); Bing! Live Minor Entertainment; Wake Birmingham Opera Company; Eugenius! The Musical Other Palace Theatre; A Teenage Opera Youth Music Theatre; Pygmalion English Theatre Frankfurt); Hubbub – A Musical Adventure MishMash Productions; What I Go To School For Youth Music Theatre.
Image credit: Lauren Connolly
Featured Work
The Electrifying Body
Centred on the Brazilian God Esu Odara, messenger between heaven and earth, this Carnival King character was produced to research and explore the incorporation of LED electronic yarn in stretch fabric for a performing arts piece.
Esu Odara’s characteristics included being a strong, protective guardian whose elements were earth and fire. These initial themes combined to form a costume representative of growing flames, a fire fanning up and out, aiming to recreate the sense of dancing flames travelling through the Carnival parade, his armoured helmet, arm and leg cuffs showing the guardian’s strength.
The design had to be able to perform in a theatre space at EMCCAN’s King and Queen Competition at Nottingham Playhouse, for which it won first runner up, but also be able to perform during outdoor carnivals, with audiences and other performers surrounding it. The costume needed to be transportable and light, whilst still creating an impact.
