Who is Wendall K. Harrington?
Tony Award winning Projectionist.
“Dance provocateur Mark Morris provided a path forward, a ray of hope” – LA Times
Mark Morris Dance Group: How did your collaboration with Mark Morris on MOON come about?
Wendall K. Harrington: I’ve known Mark and MMDG for a long time since Mark was director of The Capeman on Broadway. I’ve prayed to be asked to design for him and my prayers have been answered.
Mark Morris Dance Group: What interested you about this project?
Wendall K. Harrington: Mark Morris Dance Group! They are a wonderful company and Mark’s ideas have always intrigued. L’Allegro is a simply magnificent and life changing work, how could I not want to play with this company.
“Most important of all, his company had never been better, and the dancers themselves provided the real fantasy.” – LA Times
Mark Morris Dance Group: What role do your projections play in the world Mark Morris built in MOON?
Wendall K. Harrington: I’m doing my best to BE the Moon and also offer some joyous and I hope musical visual support. Projection can in some ways offer flight to the earthbound, I’m hoping to provide a little lift off.
Mark Morris Dance Group: What can you tell us about the projections you made for MOON?
Wendall K. Harrington: The music is so varied and gorgeous, and I am trying to support hearing that. I have always thought that Mark hears music better than anyone I’ve ever worked with, and he has a terrific sense of humor, so I’m trying to play with him, the music and the dancers in all realms, both magnificent and silly.
Photo: XimenaBrunette@/xmbphotography
“With gorgeously impressionist lighting (by Mike Faba), intriguing outer space projections (by Wendall K. Harrington), elegant costumes (by Isaac Mizrahi) and little toy spacemen scattered about, the Morris MOON became a luxuriant dreamlike escape” – LA Times
Mark Morris Dance Group: Mark is exploring many ideas in the creation of MOON, one being how the Moon became a symbol for love. What does the Moon symbolize for you?
Wendall K. Harrington: As a parent Goodnight Moon is early required reading, yet the idea of it persists, long after and I continued to share both its changeability and constancy to the point that now I’ll get texts from my very adult daughters simply saying “la lune” to alert me to a particular phase, cloud cover or clarity. Moon shadow might be my favorite natural phenomena
Catch the West Coast premiere of MOON at Cal Performances!
January 23 – 25, 2026
Photo: XimenaBrunette@/xmbphotography
Our Tour Season Continues!
See Pepperland in Williamsburg, Virginia; Berkeley and
Los Angeles, California and Las Vegas, Nevada!
Mark Morris’ evening length tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles’ acclaimed album, Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Band, returns to close out our 2024-25 Tour Season!
Pepperland features album favorites with six Pepper-inspired original pieces composed by Ethan Iverson intended especially for Morris’ profound understanding of classical forms: Allegro, Scherzo, Adagio, and the blues.
Photo: Gareth Jones
Partner Plus and Grand Duo Circle members receive concierge ticketing. Contact Lauren Grant at lauren.grant@mmdg.org to arrange your order.
Mark Morris: Music I Want You To Hear
In honor of our Pepperland Tour, Mark curated a collection featuring Jazz pianist and composer Ethan Iverson along with music he rearranged for the piece.
Happy listening.
On the Membership Dashboard
Opera and the Mark Morris Dance Group
Mark Morris has been directing and choreographing opera for nearly forty years. Beginning with Seattle Opera’s production of Salome in 1986, Morris has worked on eighteen operas to date and explored operatic music ranging from the baroque to contemporary works by composers such as John Adams. He has worked with many of the world’s leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, The Royal Opera, English National Opera, and Gotham Chamber Opera. This collection of archival videos showcases Morris’ wide-ranging dramatic imagination, choreographic inventiveness, and profound understanding of music.
Sneak a peek at this exhibit with clips from two selections within this collection: An excerpt from the 1995 film version of Dido and Aeneas (music by Henry Purcell) in which Mark Morris plays the dual roles of Dido and the evil Sorceress, and an excerpt from Four Saints in Three Acts (music by Virgil Thomson with libretto by Gertrude Stein).
