CMU School of Drama


Tuesday, January 09, 2018

Designers Make It Work: Five Local Theater Designers Detail Their Dream Projects

Newcity Stage: Frequently overlooked (even, admittedly, within the pages of this publication), designers do not so much make the world of theater go round as they make the world, period. From storefront chic to Broadway bombast, every time you enter a theater you are bearing witness to a prismatic vision constructed by a network of collaborators at the behest of directors, playwrights and other fickle types. They are creators on command. So we thought it would be illuminating if we let a few designers tailor their own projects. We found the results edifying and we’re sure they will resonate with you as well.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed reading this article, because the way that designers talk about work they want to achieve is so humbling. To hear that they are inspired by work that already exists, and some by work that they want to create is so riveting because each designer brings their own ideas to the table, and this article lets each person say what they want to say in a hypothetical situation without being struck down by reality. If I had been asked this same question, I don’t know how I would respond. The answers that were given are so thought out and clear and just reading them is convincing me to want to see this work. There is a sort of passion that exists within each of these designers which makes me wonder why these designers were chosen to answer this question. Hopefully one day they’ll be able to achieve these ideas, because I am intrigued, and I’m sure others would be too.

Alexander Friedland said...

First off, I’m glad this article recognizes that how designers are often overlooked by both theatergoers and practitioners. This is something that is constantly happening and needs to stop as designers and technicians are vital members of the theatre community. What I found most interesting about the article is how two of the of the designers described a type of show that they dream of designing rather than a specific show. These designers were Eleanor Kahn who is a scenic and properties designer wanting to work specific to a certain location and Steve Labedz who is a sound designer and composer wanting to work on ballets. I found this interesting because these dream shows are areas wonder of these two designers tries to work. While one seems more general a category than the other, the two dream projects both are categories meaning there should be more than just one project like this. This makes me wonder what is stopping these designers from working in these fields? Is it due to not being a lot of jobs because one other designer does all the work or is it something else?