The experience I designed for Leia ended up on a rainy day. Knowing the forecast ahead of time with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian traveling north made it a bit complicated to plan this experience. But we did it!
I brought Leia to the end of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade at Remsen Street in Brooklyn Heights. We travelled there together from school on a blustery and rainy afternoon. One magical part of the traverse there is when you're walking along Montague, an open street with businesses on both sides, and make a series of turns to position yourself on Remsen, the next street over. The environment feels completely different. You look toward the water and all you see is a cloud.
(this is not a designated tableau)
The first tableau is the beginning of the end of the promenade.
We start before the promenade, on what feels like an ordinary quaint street in Brooklyn. If anything, it's extraordinarily quaint. If you look around, there are so many treasures in so many places.
The second, at the end.
I love this composition between the tree, building, 'End' sign, Governor's Island, and the unseen road below. It's such a rich staging that has a lot of energy, especially with the traffic just below and beyond this point.
To find the third, continue along the sidewalk and make a 180 degree turn away from the promenade.
I chose this because I wanted to break the movement toward the waterfront. There's a natural inclination and a great surge of momentum toward the viewing promenade that I wanted to deny the audience member, for a moment. Instead, look at these homes. Think of all the people who live here and get to enjoy this spectacular view every day. What are their lives like? What are they doing right now?
The fourth is just a 180 degree turn from here.
This tableau might be my favorite because it keeps the viewer in a lurch. It kinda feels like a cliffhanger. You are caught in a transitory position at the top of a short ramp that wants to propel you to the edge of the promenade. You see so much, yet you want to get as close to the view as you can physically place yourself. I want you to take a wide angle view of the promenade and see the space for what it is, rather than being immersed in it. This observatory stance forces the participant to be a bystander. There is nothing to do but look.
