American Idiot

Harper College, Palatine IL   |    November 2019

Projection Design

Direction      Laura Pulio

Scenic         Lauren Nichols

The two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical Green Day’s American Idiot, based on the Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album, boldly takes the American musical where it’s never gone before. This high-octane show includes every song from Green Day’s album, American Idiot, as well as several songs from its follow-up release, 21st Century Breakdown. Johnny, Tunny and Will struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. When the three disgruntled men flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, their paths are quickly estranged when Tunny enters the armed forces, Will is called back home to attend to familial responsibilities, and Johnny’s attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship. An energy-fueled rock opera, American Idiot, features little dialogue and instead relies on the lyrics from Green Day’s groundbreaking album to execute the story line.

This show used several projectors controlled with qLab to create scenic elements and enhance musical numbers.  In addition, we created a number of video montages that helped establish both the time the  play takes place and the relevance to modern America.

Sunset Boulevard

Porchlight Theatre, Chicago  |    October 2019

Projection Design

Direction      Michael Weber

Scenic         Jeff Kmiec

Lighting        Maggie Fullilove-Nugent

In her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, faded, silent-screen goddess Norma Desmond lives in a fantasy world. When impoverished screenwriter Joe Gillis, on the run from debt collectors, stumbles into her reclusive domain he is persuaded to work on Norma’s “masterpiece,” a screenplay that she believes will put her back in front of the cameras. Seduced by Norma and her luxurious lifestyle, he finds himself trapped in her clutches until his love for another woman leads him to try and break free with shattering consequences.

One Giant Leap

Timeline Theatre, Chicago IL   |    October 2019

Projection Design

Direction      PJ Powers

Lighting        Mike Durst

One Giant Leap weaves together transcripts of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, news coverage from the period, and excerpts from interviews with the men and women involved in the landing. Some of the characters include Michael Collins, the astronaut who flew the command module while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored the moon; Margaret Hamilton, the computer scientist who led NASA’s team of software engineers; John Wolfram, a Navy frogman who recovered the capsule after the three astronauts splashed down; and John Noble Wilford, a reporter who covered the race to the moon.

This was a reading that ran on top of another production at the Broadway Playhouse, in Chicago.  The set was a round room that was tricky to project on but really worked for large scale projections of the moon.  

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Actors Theatre, Grand Rapids, MI   |    September 2019

Projection Design

Direction      Jolene Frankey

Scenic         Claire Bouwkamp

Lighting        Catherine Marlett Dreher

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is hilarious, harrowing, and powerfully uplifting for anyone who's ever felt different. This groundbreaking smash hit tells the story of "internationally ignored song stylist" Hedwig Schmidt, an East German rock 'n' roll performer who is the victim of a botched sex-change operation which has left her with just "an angry inch." The show daringly breaks the fourth wall, as Hedwig, with a little help from a band and back-up singer Yitzhak, examines her quest for identity, love, and wholeness.

“projections by Anthony Churchill heighten the overall atmospheric gritty effect.”    - REVUE Michigan

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Midsummer, A Play With Songs

Projection & Sound Design

Direction     Randy White

Scenic         Mark F. Smith

Lighting       Brandon Wardell

A wickedly funny story about Helena, a high powered attorney looking for revenge sex and Bob, a thief always on the prowl. As fate would have it, a night of raucous sex turns into a weekend of car chases, gangsters, wedding busts, midnight trysts - and a second chance at life and love - all set in Edinburgh to a joyous indie folk-pop score.

Darling Grenadine

Marriott Theatre, Lincolnshire IL   |    July 2019

Projection Design

  • Direction     Aaron Thielen

  • Lighting       Jesse Klug

  • Scenic          Jeff Kmiec

Harry is a charming songwriter whose fanciful view of the world rivals the Technicolor of any MGM classic. But as Harry floats through the kind of Manhattan life that dreams are made of, he starts to wonder if a dream may be exactly what it is. Told with a rich contemporary score, Darling Grenadine peels away the layers of musical comedy tropes to explore the friction between romance and reality, denial and heartbreak. With its surprising melding of off-beat, whimsical humor and serious themes of addiction and loss, this bittersweet new musical brings us something magical, moving and boldly unique at Lincolnshire's Marriott Theatre.

This musical had a unique setup of LED Panels in this 360 space. More than 90 panels were pixel mapped to create a number of different locations and song effects including several liquid moments and a 360 degree fireworks display for the New Year’s Eve scene. Media was built in After Effects and programmed to run in WatchOut.

“ But it is Anthony Churchill’s media design that truly shines. Utilizing numerous suspended staggered screens surrounding the stage, Churchill renders interiors, skylines and landscapes as well as some less literal effects that do the dual job of communicating location while also underscoring the emotional weight of the scenes. There is a moment in Act II that is, in a word, breathtaking..” - Northwest Herald



Take Me

Strawdog Theatre, Chicago IL   |    May 2019

Projection Design

  • Direction     Anderson Lawfer

  • Lighting      John Kelly

  • Scenic         John Wilson

Take Me is a world premiere musical by Mark Guarino featuring all-new original songs by Jon Langford (The Mekons, Waco Brothers). Inspired by true events, Take Me is the story of Shelly, a woman trapped by the trauma of a husband in a coma and the chaos that followed. Looking for solace, she finds herself pulled in to the realm of wild alien conspiracy theories. Voices from the sky tell her the answer to all her problems is to build an alien themed amusement park in Roswell, New Mexico. Take Me is a comic fantasia, a story about having faith in a world where there are more questions than answers.

“Lighting Designer John Kelly and Projections Designer Tony Churchill collaborate to create a hypnotic world outside of our everyday realm – beginning with the moment we enter the space. Because of the intimate setting, we as an audience are immediately embraced into the enticing extraterrestrial world.” -Picture This Post

“Imaginative and often beautiful visual projections by designer Tony Churchill transform Strawdog Theatre's intimate, low-ceilinged performing area into an otherworldly environment for Take Me” - Chicago Reader


photos by Anthony Churchill

I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart

Rivendell Theatre, Chicago IL   |    March 2019

Projection Design

  • Direction     Jessica Fisch

  • Lighting       Heather Gilbert

  • Scenic          Regina Garcia

Samantha and Leo are a team -- best friends and roommates, fat girl and gay guy against the world -- until a new friend upends their cozy co-dependent diet of mutual self-loathing and Grey's Anatomy marathons. An ode to the complications of friendship in its many messed-up forms, with a special nod to a kind of love that sometimes looks a lot like rage.

This play used projections for some special effects during the top and bottom of the show and some transitions. There was a lot of motion graphics using high contrast looks on unconventional spaces.

“projections from Anthony Churchill add a slick charm to the quick, episodic scenes.” - 3rd Coast Review



A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder

Porchlight Theatre, Chicago IL   |    March 2019

Projection Design

  • Direction     Stephen Schellhardt

  • Lighting       Denise Karczewski

  • Scenic          Angela Weber Miller

The uproarious story of Monty Navarro, an heir to a family fortune who sets out to jump the line of succession by—you guessed it—eliminating the eight pesky relatives who stand in his way. All the while, Monty has to juggle his mistress (she’s after more than just love), his fiancée (she’s his cousin but who’s keeping track?), and the constant threat of landing behind bars! Of course it will all be worth it if he can slay his way to his inheritance . . . and be done in time for tea. Here’s a show that will have you dying with laughter and that The New York Times calls “Among the most inspired and entertaining new musicals.”

With two projectors, this was a simple technological show in the space, but exceedingly complex in pre-production. The show involved interactions between the performers and the projections so everything was meticulously timed to match movement. Additionally, there was a number of visual jokes and gimmicks that had to have timing that matched the text.

“ingeniously enhanced by Anthony Churchill’s projection work). All of it is award-worthy.” - WTTW Chicago

photos by Michael Courier