Alex J. Gendal is a Chicago, Illinois based Projection Designer and Creative Technologist. He specializes in Interactive Media, and some of his recent work includes Escape to Margaritaville (Timber Lake Playhouse, IL), Love and Information (Madden Theatre, IL), What A Wonderful World (Timber Lake Playhouse, IL), Middle Passage (Lifeline Theatre, IL), Eugene Onegin (UT Austin, TX), Fall For Dance - SHOULDERS (UT Austin, TX), Anon(ymous) (UT Austin, TX), The Laramie Project (Phillips Exeter Academy, NH), and Belly Dance Masters (Double Tree Hilton, Orlando, FL).
Alex has a passion for storytelling through projection design and audience engagement. His use of media in live performances brings a new style of life to a show, from actor/projection interaction, to audience participation, to interactive installations. He’s constantly exploring new avenues for including seated audiences in the performance.
His passion for theatre began with the fluid, emotive visual landscapes that are only possible in lighting design. This drove Alex to SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Theatre Arts, where he earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Theatre Design/Technology with a Lighting Design Concentration.
He completed Graduate School at the University of Texas at Austin earning his Masters of Fine Arts in Integrated Media for Live Performance. During his studies, he learned how to make live performances more personal for audiences.
Alongside designing for projections, Alex is an avid lighting and projection programmer. His stregnths lie in QLab, Watchout, TouchDesigner, Isadora, and ETC family consoles. Other skills include MSC triggering, Xbox Kinect, motion tracking, 3D mapping, and working in collaborative environments.
Artist Statement:
I am an artist of passion, collaboration, and experimentation.
I aspire to push my boundaries, to develop and enhance my skills with each project I undertake. My passions lie with creating experimental theatre, implementing interactive media, and innovative problem solving for every task. I consider myself an artist of light and image, and the eye is my canvas. The ability that light has to evoke curiosity and wonder from audiences drives me to put my all into every project and performance. I grow from each design as I continue to explore uncharted avenues and experiment with curiosity.