Playbill: For set designer Beowulf Boritt, design has nearly no limits. “I’m not afraid to be quite bold” says Boritt. “I often have intense color in my design.”
Boritt, whose work includes The Scottsboro Boys and POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, came to the profession through a literature degree, but he possessed a designer’s instinct from birth.
4 comments:
I actually had the honor to work on a show that Beowulf designed this summer. His design was very bold indeed and a lot of fun to work with. Our show had a sparkly purple floor and walls. I love seeing success stories of people who did not get their undergraduate degree in theatre. Having a literature degree is probably a really big help in being able to analyze and picture a set based off a script. I love the sentence in the article about trusting your instincts, theatre is built on instincts and interactions, so if we as artistics can’t trust our own, how can we lead others to believe what we tell them. I think his story is really interesting and can give a lot of hope to young designers. I look forward to continuing to be impressed with his designs and the worlds he invites audiences to partake in.
I have so much respect for designers who are able to make bold choices that might fail and could possibly get them fired. They aren’t afraid to trust their instincts and intuition which can lead to genius discoveries. I do not think people realize just how difficult that truly is. Scenic design can be so vulnerable especially when it can be considered unusual. As a manager and audience member I want to be intrigued and see new takes on familiar stories, so Borrit’s work is something really exciting. I think that this article brings up a really great point, that it takes a lot of courage to make that kind of work. I was also really interested in the section about his grandmother's gardening and how much of an impact that had on his design eye. If I ever watch a production with one of his designs I will definitely keep that in the back of my mind to see the connection.
Borritt’s designs are truly stunning. I love the way the article talked about him and then showed a gallery of photos of his work. I have actually seen some of his work in person on Broadway and felt the same way. It looks distinctly unique to him and I love that about it. I think that it is pretty telling about the type of person that he is that I hadn’t really heard his name come up. I hear the same Broadway scenic designer’s name come up all of the time because he will never stop talking about his own work. It sounds like Borritt is a bit more real and humble about his designs. I love people that are true to themselves and trust their initial instincts when making decisions. It is extremely difficult to try to sell a producer on something that you don’t necessarily believe in yourself and it looks like his designs have been very successful because he believes in them and makes the bold choices.
I knew Beowulf Boritt was a bit name in the technical theatre industry, so it’s cool to get a look at his story. While “bold choices” may be a through line for him, I love that his designs feel very distinct in a true effort to serve the story. Not to mention the intricacies of the scale models make me have a lot of respect for him and how he regards the craft of scenic design. I was lucky to see POTUS on Broadway and adored the scenic design. The use of the turntable was excellent and didn’t feel like a gimmick. It felt so crucial to the story. Getting an look into so many different full-sized rooms in the White House served the story very well because the different characters could take ownership of the space and thrive in the comedy of the piece. I’m impressed by Boritt’s work and would like to see what’s next.
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