jacob t. middleton, aia




work

architecture
    10. breaking character
    09. cruising rhyolite
    08. performitory
    07. purple plushy catwalk
    06. holly haus
    05. chronicles out west
    04. at journey’s end
    03. made in asherton
    02. intakes/outtakes
    01. a sanctuary
theatre
    05. sashayed away
    04. the vanya project
    03. topdog/underdog
    02. drowning
    01. the tempest


about

  1. jacob t. middleton is a Texas native based in New York City. he holds a Bachelor of Architecture from The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture and has studied at New York University Tisch School of the Arts in the Graduate Department of Design for Stage & Film. his work has been featured by Columbia University School of the Arts, Spectacular+Texas Architect Magazine, ISSUE by UTSOA, and Archisource.
  2. jacob is an architect at Dattner Architects. previously he has collaborated with Bates Masi ArchitectsClickspring Designdots, Overlay Office, and Magic Architecture, among others.
  3. he is interested in creating work at a variety of scales that investigates performance, explores bad taste, embraces low culture, and questions existing typologies.



contact

  1. jtmidd2021(at)gmail (dot) com
  2. instagram
  3. linkedin

the vanya project

an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya by Yibin Wang and Tayler Everts

The Vanya Project follows “an eclectic group of people who meet to perform a production of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, wherein voyueristic footage intercedes. In this play within a play, a film student plays the Professor; a K-Pop addict plays Vanya; a YouTube doll collector plays Yelena... as they perform Uncle Vanya onstage, prerecorded content following their daily lives interrupts the Chekhovian narrative. Interruptions become intercuts become conversations. Soon: neither reality will be clear.”

The Vanya Project’s scenery draws inspiration from the two disparate narratives (that of Chekhov’s and of the adaptation) and highlights the tension between them. The stage begins pristine: furniture pieces are arranged onstage in an orthogonal grid, feeling rigid and in-place. As the play unfurls, and the audience’s perception of reality becomes less clear, the furnitures drift from their original locations, slowly becoming messier and messier. Ending with a cacophony of elements onstage, the players feel disconnected from their Chekhovian characters and from one another by final curtain. An oversized muslin projection screen hangs upstage, anchoring the piece and allowing for video projections of important plot points to be featured behind the action onstage.
project information
location: the theatre at schapiro, columbia university; new york, new york
date: 2022
type: scenic design, prop design, set dressing, produced


credits
project team: jacob t. middleton

director: yibin wang
costume design: nuzzi li
lighting design: adrienne miikellesound design: yuexing (star) sun
cinematography: yejia sun photos: tayler everts













behind-the-scenes; filming video elements for onstage projections


conceptual massing; set pieces break from orthogonal grid as play progresses
ground plan


front elevation


SR section

next ︎︎︎