Making a tie shop fly...

That moment when the stage goes from a stark and pedestrian work space to a magic other world? A lot of it is due to the artistry of lighting. In our last production of "Piazza," it was vital to capture the sun-bathed beauty of Florence, the musty grandeur of the duomo, the scary dark streets.

The guy behind that show's lighting?

Greg Mancusi-Ungaro. He joined the ranks behind the scenes last season, when he did the striking and atmospheric lighting for "An Inspector Calls." Since then, he's become a familiar face at AFD. Last month, Greg provided both the scenic and lighting designs for AFD's "The Light in the Piazza."

He also provided lighting designs for "The Graduate."

Next up: "The Game's Afoot or, Holmes For The Holidays." That show is glitz and glamor and a lot of fast footwork and shenanigans.

The tie shop in "The Light in the Piazza"

The family dynamic in "The Graduate"

The family dynamics in "An Inspector Calls"

His other recent local work includes "From Silence" (Marblehead Little Theatre) “A Picasso” and "Death of a Salesman" (Mugford Street Players), “Inferno - Fire at the Coconut Grove” (Core Theatre), and "Into the Woods" (Swampscott High).

Greg is a committed theatre educator, he has worked and taught at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, served as a visiting artist at the Community College of Rhode Island, and has contributed his talents to school and children's theatre productions at Marblehead Little Theatre, Shore Country Day School, Swampscott High School, Marblehead Veterans Middle School and Marblehead High School.