Jon is set in the corporate facility where a group of teens have lived and worked since birth, knowing very little about the outside world around them. They rate designer clothing, fad energy drinks, and new teen-consumer items under the management of the facility staff.Jon falls in love with Carolyn, both having grown up in the facility, and soon Carolyn becomes pregnant. With the prospect of raising a baby as a teen mother in the facility, Carolyn begins to question if the only life she has known would be the best for their child.
I created a bold color scheme to make the group of teens cohesive, and within the group I designed character-driven silhouettes that distinguished the teens as individuals. Kimberly has a punk streak, Ruth is a bit of a goth, Carolyn is the class-president-type, Josh has a little young republican in him, Brad is a video game 'nerd', and Jon is a stoner-jock. I used these labels loosely, as all of the clothing they wore (and the way they wore it) needed look as if it were designed for the mainstream American teen, but with an added edge. I drew a lot of my design inspiration and research from advertisements and store fronts.The facility staff wore the office "uniform" of corporate America: khaki pants, blue collared shirt, a bland tie, cell phone holster on the belt, and key card lanyard.
Chris Jones reviews Jon on CBS Chicago - view the video here!A video clip from Jon posted by video designer Mike Tutaj.
A second video clip posted by Mike Tutaj.
And, a third video clip posted to blip.tv.
An interview with George Saunders about the play Jon:
Consumed with Desire: Writer George Saunders Discusses His Collaboraction Collaboration, by Monica Westin from Newcity Stage
An article about Director/Adapter Seth Bockley's meetings with George Saunders from Collaboraction's website.
Collaboraction's 'Jon' Has Finger on Pulse of Our Robotic, Materialistic Society, by Hedy Weiss in the Chicago Sun-Times
Hyper-Marketed Worlds Rings True In 'Jon', by Chris Jones for The Theatre Loop at ChicagoTribune.com
'Jon' - Theatre Review, by Kris Vire for Time Out Chicago
'Jon,' by Tom Williams for ChicagoCritic.com
'Jon,' by Tony Adler for the Chicago Reader
The Medium Is The Mess: Collaboraction Adapts A "Genius" Short Story, by Jonathan Messinger from Time Out Chicago
Teens Try To Get Real In Fleshed-Out 'Jon', by Mary Houlihan for the Chicago Sun-Times
