Press
“To complete a picture as strongly as Dymond does, it takes a group of people who are often ignored or just mentioned in a review…. A marvelous set ( Jaqueline and Rick Penrod) where we can see the layers of the house and the symbolism of the little fishing boat filled with letters that becomes the refuge for DiDi and Charlie Cooper’s perfect lighting effects creating the moods of each of the well written scenes by He’bert.”
Alan Bresloff- Aroundthetownchicago.com
“Charlie Cooper’s lighting evokes the different settings of Jessalyn’s monologues, and beautifully reflects her changing moods, switching from cool blues and warm oranges for her past to stark red for her most extreme moments of confusion and terror.”
Oliver Sava-Chicagotheatreblog.com
“Soul Samurai’s technical elements are amazing. Organic and ingenious, they play together as mood-setting backdrop and a mechanism for wild innovation in mixed-media theater.”
Ryan Dolley-Time Out Chicago
“The high-tech, multimedia production -including video elements, a live DJ, and a light show that would make Lady Ga Ga jealous- is an excellent and unique way for a 20 or 30 something adult to spend the evening.”
Krista Krauss, Concierge Preferred
“The real stars of the show, however, are the technical team of David Ferguson, Liviu Pasare, Charles Cooper, Miles Polaski and Joy Dennis, who together create a dramatic universe steeped in metaphor and mystery, where violence is not a mere enhancement but instead seamlessly integrated into their story’s very foundations.”
Windy City Times- Mary Shen Barnidge
Around the World in 80 Days- Indiana Repertory Theatre
“More than anything else about this adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel, I was taken with …Charles Cooper’s lighting, which shrinks this fantastic global trek into delightfully small dimensions. Small, warm spotlights introduce our hero Phileas Fogg against a velvety darkness and then light expands for his big adventure, a train-elephant-ship voyage accompanied by projections of dreamy skies and full moons.”
Josefa Beyer-NUVO
“Kevin Depinet’s scenic design seems, at first, to be just a polished, dark, parquet floor under a prettily ornamented frame, with a little round table and a handful of embroidered chairs. As the story gets going, a little door pops open or a small committee of trees glides in or a perfectly chosen object drops down…or the lighting patterns change on the back wall (lighting design by Charles Cooper) or a puff of smoke adds another dimension of physicality and surprise. Your imagination is happy (delighted!) to fill in the rest, and does so with ease.”
Hope Baugh –Indytheatrehabit.com
“And ah, the Lighting Design! Take a look at the picture of Eddie in a thoughtful moment and notice how the light plays on his face. It’s a perfect example of Charles Cooper’s masterful lighting.”
Patricia Simms – Chicago splash.com
“The scenes change quickly with the actors making the changes and the lighting effects (Charles Cooper) add to the flavor of these seedy men.”
Alan Bresloff- Around the Town Chicago
“Scenic and properties designers Kevin Depinet and Nick Heggestad, respectively, have created a suitably forlorn set… Rachel Anne Healy’s costumes and Charles Cooper’s lighting add to the dismal mood.”
Tom Witom- Lake County Journal
“It was a wise choice by the director William Brown to keep things simple and gritty. The set, sound and lighting work nicely in the cozy space as the swindlers feel the rush of constantly cheating people out of their money.”
Jerry Nunn- Windy City Times
“Stripped of their names — that last reminder of their former selves — they are identified by a number coinciding with the pecking order established by their captor, a rebel leader known as C.O. (for “commanding officer”), who never appears but whose presence Gurira chillingly conveys with help from lighting designer Charles Cooper.”
Barbara Vitello-The Daily Herald
“To add to the overall production, the set by by Jack Magaw, the lighting by Charles Cooper … make it all appear real… (and )truly make it a worthwhile experience.”
Alan Bresloff-Around The Town Chicago
“Infused with rigorous feminist thinking and amplified through unsparing stagecraft, Gurira’s tiny, tightly focused story achieves an epic scope.”
Justin Hayford-Chicago Reader
“Jack Magaw’s ramshackle set establishes the atmosphere of deprivation and oppression that dominate the lives of the characters. The physical production also profits from Charles Cooper’s dramatic lighting and Myron Elliott’s tattered costumes.”
Dan Zeff- Copley news service
“Effective lighting design by Charles Cooper changes the look and mood of the set, creates beautiful changes to the “sky,” and forwards and enhances the action, for example when a light from within the commander’s building is used to represent his demands for attention and when special effects are used for a gun battle outside the compound.”
Juanita Nicholson – Chicagosplash.com
To Master The Art-TimeLine Theatre
“Indeed, Brown’s romantic production (beautifully designed by the team of Keith Pitts, Rachel Anne Healy and Charles Cooper, with lovely romantic music from Andrew Hansen) is an excellent, intimate, foodie-friendly staging, resonant with atmosphere and the kind of classic, cozy, autumnal kitchen ambiance that makes one want to swear off takeout food from this moment forth.”
Chris Jones-Chicago Tribune
“Brown and his design team create a remarkable feel for the time and place.”
John Olson- Talkin Broadway
“Brown’s rock-solid supporting cast and an evocative kitchen set by Keith Pitts–enhanced by Charles Cooper’s autumnal lighting–add texture and spice to this unlikely but thoroughly engaging love story.”
Kerry Reid- Chicago Reader
Thieves Like Us-The House Theatre
“Charlie Cooper’s noirish lighting, some nifty work with a pulley and recurring choreography with newspapers keep Thieves Like Us looking lively. “
John Beer- Timeout Chicago
“…Kimberly Senior, whose ever bold and inventive spirit is matched by the work of choreographer Tommy Rapley, fight master Nick Sandys, and composer Kevin O’Donnell, the thrilling environmental scenic design of Lee Keenan and the richly nuanced contributions of Alison Siple (costumes), Charlie Cooper (lighting) and Christopher Kriz (sound), all of whom have helped create a deliciously cinematic (and also winningly Brechtian) piece of theater.”
Heddy Weiss- Chicago Sun Times
“Thieves Like Us” is perhaps the slickest and most polished show I’ve ever seen at the House Theatre.”
Chris Jones-Chicago Tribune
“”Throughout the show, lights and sound (Charlie Cooper and Christopher Kriz) combine to create the illusion of old-fashion photographs being shot. This imagery, along with costumes by Alison Siple, helps establish a depression era setting.”
Katy Walsh- The Forth Walsh.com
Blue Door-Victory Gardens Theatre
“Keith Pitts’s set …serve (s) as a canvas for Liviu Pasare’s projections and Charlie Cooper’s lights, two invaluable agents for bringing the distant past to the fore.”
Caitlin Montanye Parris-Time Out Chicago
“This enticing piece is presented on a wonderfully elegant set (designed by Keith Pitts) with haunting lighting (by Charlie Cooper) with underscoring video projections (by Liviu Pasare).”
Tom Williams- Chicago Critic.com
“The lighting by Charlie Cooper and sound by Andre Pluess along with the simple costuming by Judith Lundberg and subtle videos by Liviu Pasare complete the painting that Barfield and Dymond create on the stage at the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater.”
Alan Bresloff-Steadstylechicago.com
Rhymes With Evil-Infusion Theatre
“But in Mitch Golob’s visually fascinating staging, designers Meredith Miller (puppets), Keith Pitts (set), Charles Cooper (lights), Dawn Myrie (props), and Amy Gabbert (costumes) create an environment that shifts fluidly between reality and the eerie world of Lathan’s imagination. “
Albert Williams-Chicago Readrer
“Technically this is a strong show. There’s a lot going on and it all runs smoothly.”
Venus Zarris-Chicago Stage Review
As You Like It-Writer’s Theatre
“The production is bathed in topnotch design work from a mighty crew of light, scene, sound and set magicians.”
Katey Sullivan- Pioneer Press
“The set by Keith Pitts recreates the Forest of Arden as a decaying mansion surrounded by unspoiled nature. The physical production is further enhanced by Rachel Anne Healy (costumes), Charles Cooper (lighting), and Andrew Hansen.”
Dan Zeff- Copley News Service
Macbeth-Greasy Joan and Company
“Director Julieanne Ehre fully embraces the play’s supernatural aspect. Scenic designer Kevin Depinet’s stark white set is a perfect canvas for lighting designer Charles Cooper’s eerie colors and ghostly shadows, and sound designer Andrew Hansen’s otherworldly aural effects intensify the play’s dark magic.”
Albert Williams- Chicago reader
“There are some inspired choices here… a terrific shadow play depicting the long line of kings descended from Macbeth’s nemesis Banquo. This is a small-scale Shakespeare that has both style and substance on its side. “
Kerry Reid- Chicago Tribune
“The production works, thanks to the all-around talents of actors who are aided by Charles Cooper’s atmospheric lighting, Kevin Depinet’s starkly perfect set, Nick Keenan’s moody music and Alison Heryer’s magical costumes.”
Mary Houlihan- Chicago sun times
“Scenic designer Kevin Depinet’s austere fortress with Moorish flourishes and Charles Cooper’s surprisingly varied lighting are highly effective.”
Jonathan Abarbanel-Windy City Times
“Ehre takes the recipe of Rivera’s exceptional script, adds the ingredients of an engaging cast and ices the cake with beautiful technical elements. Don’t miss this dramatically delicious treat.”
Venus Zarris- Gay Chicago Magazine
A Man For All Seasons- TimeLine Theatre
“The set consists of a bare stage partially bisected by a sliver of water that represents the River Thames among other locations. Otherwise, the physical production relies on a few props and some dramatic lighting to carry us back to 16th century England.”
Dan Zeff- Copley News Service
Martin Furey’s Shot- TimeLine Theatre
“A great panoramic wall of the township slums that doubles as a vast screen for the many projections of archival photographs that are expertly fused into the storytelling. The projection design by Mike Tutaj is richly complemented by Charles Cooper’s lighting and Andrew Hansen’s superb soundscape. “
Heddy Weis – Chicago Sun Times
Paragon Springs- TimeLine Theatre
“The masterful set designer Brian Sidney Bembridge has created a hauntingly beautiful set, whose misty patina and symphony of bare branches suggest both a paradise and toxic wasteland. Charles Cooper’s magnificent lighting enhances this effect, as do Andrew Hansen’s thrilling sound design and original music and Alex Meadows’ period-perfect costumes.”
Heddy Weis – Chicago Sun Times
Awake and Sing!- TimeLine Theatre
“Nicole Rene Burchfield’s period costumes, Charles Cooper’s air-shaft-like lighting and Andrew Hansen’s sound are excellent. “
Heddy Weis – Chicago Sun Times
