The Last Five Years is a touching 90 minute duet show. It follows the characters Jamie and Cathy from their first date to the end of their marriage, utilizing a nonlinear plot structure where Jamie lives the story chronologically while we follow Cathy in the reverse. In my production, the actors only interacted once, when their plot lines intersected at the wedding. For this work, I prioritized intimacy. I staged the piece in a compact blackbox space and positioned audience members right at the edge of the playing space.  To illustrate the differing timelines to the viewer, I emphasized color, with warm lighting and saturated costumes for the earliest moments in the plot and cool lighting with total desaturation for the final moments; the progressions were gradual. Working with actors, my focus was on believable interaction without a scene partner. I worked extensively on constructing sightlines and stimulating reactions through unseen beats.