By Kristen Nevarez Schweizer

April 10, 2025

This month, Cygnet Theatre prepares to unveil Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King. The American comedy-drama tells the story of Cordell, his boyfriend, and their friends preparing a culinary entry for the annual ‘Hot Wang Festival’ in Memphis, Tennessee. The script won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2021 and promises laughter, tears, and insight into a beautiful world. Preview performances of The Hot Wing King begins April 9 in Old Town; the American comedy-drama officially opens April 12.

“It’s a true honor to lead a project that places the beauty of vulnerability at the heart of Black male spaces,” says director Kian Kline-Chilton. “I want to unapologetically showcase every facet of what makes us beautiful — our laughter, our hair, our fashion, our love — in our most human, unapologetic form. My hope is that this experience will not only bring audiences joy, but also inspire them to embrace love in all its fullness, reminding us of the power of self-expression in a world that so often demands we dim our light.”

Kline-Chilton’s quote regarding light inspired me to interview the show’s lighting designer, Caroline Andrew (she/they). Andrew has worked on nearly a dozen shows at Cygnet in lighting positions ranging from student fellow, assistant, associate designer, and, most recently, designing Mud Row in 2022.

Kristen: You’ve done a lot of great work at Cygnet over the years.

Caroline: Thank you, it’s also where I met (Hot Wing King director) Kian. We were both students when we started working at Cygnet and feel like we’ve grown up there side-by-side. His first mainstage show was also mine. There is a good feeling with seasoned and new faces all alongside each other on this project.

Kristen: Tell me your thoughts on the lighting vision for The Hot Wing King.

Caroline: This show is a fun, funky, and irreverent look at the realities of living in this world, and the negotiations we make to be stable in our environment and to have a family and community when there are so many outside pressures. 

When I look at a show, I analyze not just physical inspiration but the emotional manifestations that a play gives me and where the connection points are. What fascinated me was when I started trying to do online research regarding a gay, black man’s home life — it was almost non-existent. It’s so unfair that in art and representation, we don’t have shows or art that expose the softer, comforting side of a gay, black man’s life.

To me, The Hot Wing King is an interesting exposure of the inner workings of this inner life. Early into the show, we start with someone peering in through a window, and the whole show is like that. An aspect of voyeurism regarding what it’s like to be with friends and be with family when you think no one else is watching.

There is a lot of inside and outside playing space, especially in a small theater like Cygnet when we have to use lighting to delineate literally ‘outside’ versus ‘inside.’ A lot of windows and textures in the lighting to show that we are reversing the perspective, reminding us that we are on the outside looking in.

Kristen: What do you hope audiences will notice about the lighting?

Caroline: Nothing! (Laughs.) I am of the standpoint that if you’re looking at the lights, I’ve done something wrong. The eye should be on the actors; the lights just make the environment feel real. If an audience member stops to notice the lighting, something has gone wrong. 

Kristen: Is that mindset helped along by your time at Walt Disney Imagineering?

Caroline: Yes and no! My time there was wild; it was such a crazy time to be working there. At the height, I was in the middle of building the Avengers’ and Star Wars’ campus and I loved every second of it, I learned a lot about fixtures and nuances of them rather than design itself but it did impassion my love for immersive experiences and how can I do that within a venue. I’m always asking: how can I draw you in?

Kristen: I imagine you’re building on your ability to create immersive experiences in this specific space, having worked at Cygnet for so many years.

Caroline: I most recently did Mud Row at Cygnet in 2022, and there are so many call backs to the same sort of format and delineation of space. You can only make so many configurations of a set work in a house in this space, so sitting there working through it’s the same thing immediately start plopping down and immediately can start about entrances and knowing what gags will work, new things with every script and it’s nice to pull from your back pocket while dreaming up fresh ideas. 

Kristen: Why the resume break since 2022?

Caroline: I have long COVID, a nasty case that turned into extra autoimmune diseases and mobility issues. I’ve done a few shows, but I’ve taken a step back to focus on my health, so that’s the gap. I’ve helped out friends on projects, but Hot Wing King is my first show back in the saddle. My friends and colleagues were shocked when I walked in with a cane because I hadn’t been open about the fact that I need a mobility aid now. But now I’m open about it.

These days, I am an advocate and curating a list of articles for ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association) focused on accessibility. It’s called The Charrette Space, and the first one just came out in their quarterly magazine.

Kristen: What’s a charrette? 

Caroline: A charrette often means ‘a design challenge,’ specifically focused on the coming together to map solutions. It felt like the right name for what I’m doing with these articles — and what I do as a theatrical designer.

Caroline Andrew (she/they) is a disabled theatre consultant and lighting designer working for Charcoalblue and is remotely based in San Diego, California. Caroline has over 15 years of experience in theatre and live events, specializing in lighting design and controls, in addition to over five years of lighting design for themed entertainment and immersive environments. Caroline obtained their MFA in Theatre Design and Technology from San Diego State University. She has worked for Walt Disney Imagineering, and as a guest lecturer and mentor at San Diego State University, Mesa College, and with various non-profit educational organizations.

The Hot Wing King
Written by Katori Hall
Directed by Kian Kline-Chilton
Cygnet Theatre | Old Town
April 9 – May 9