Here There are Blueberries

I was honored to be on the design team for the first licensed production of Here There are Blueberries at the Detroit Public Theatre, now running through Nov 2nd, 2025. This production was directed by Amy Marie Seidel, who has been in the team developing the script for the past 8 years as a dramaturg, and is a creative artist with The Tectonic Theatre Project. Structurally and stylistically HTAB is similar to The Laramie Project, a documentary play about the murder of Matthew Shepherd, also by Moises Kaufman and Tectonic. HTAB is the story of an album of photos, donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, that depicts the perpetrators on their days off and also captures important events at the Auschwitz concentration camp through the eyes of the Nazi officers and camp staff.

The company of eight performers step in and out of dozens of characters as the story of these images unfolds. Every character is inspired by a real person, notably the museum archivists, who are all still alive since the album was donated less than 20 years ago. From the onset, we knew each performer needed just one look, the role of an archivist, plus we didn’t want to clutter the impact of the storytelling by using multiple costume pieces. There are two exceptions: the additions of a jacket for one and a sweater and glasses for another, to help ground longer scenes as the actors stepped into characters that were based on the surviving relatives of Nazi perpetrators.

The play itself is a story of images, and while the clothes are contemporary, the design choices were rooted in research, and in strong collaboration with the performers. The director invited me to consider places where we could point to some of the historical images to add details to the archivists of today. Examples of these details include a bow blouse as a nod to the BDM uniform, a utility shirt with chest pockets mirroring the military uniform, and a contrasting collar on a sport coat like the one on an officer’s jacket. Because of all the black and white images and beautiful gray set, the clothes provided texture and warmth, bringing these historical figures to life. We present this work at a time when reminders of what the fertile ground for the rise of fascism looks like. As the former head of propaganda of the BDM, Melita Maschmann, says, “We had been fatally prepared to fall for his ‘ideas.’”

Production photos by Jeromy Hopgood

Director: Amy Marie Seidel

Scenic Designer: Sarah Pearline

Projection Designer: Jeromy Hopgood

Lighting Designer: David Shocket

Sound Designer: Salvador Zamora

Stage Manager: Angie Ayriss