Live Design Online: Patrick Anthony is a freelance lighting and scenic designer who works regularly with Austin, Texas-based Filigree Theatre, The Vortex Repertory Company, Austin Shakespeare, and Capital T Theatre and internationally at the Dublin Fringe Festival. In addition to his work as a designer Patrick teaches stagecraft in the department of theatre at Southwestern University. Patrick is the recipient of the 2012, 2016 & 2021 B. Iden Payne award for Outstanding Lighting Design, as well as the 2016 & 2017 Austin Critics' Table Award for Lighting Design, and was recently nominated for two more B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Scenic Design and for Outstanding Lighting Design for The Filigree Theatre’s production of Antigone. He teaches Stagecraft in the Department of Theatre at Southwestern University.
4 comments:
I loved his comment about the lighting design reflecting the story in a nuanced way. Lighting shapes how a world is seen and felt. The same set in one lighting feels one way, and lit differently feels completely different. At the same time, sometimes a lighting look doesn’t fit with what the set feels like, and I very much understand what he means about the set and the lighting being inextricably linked. I also loved his comment about finding the touchstone of a design. I have found that once you figure out what the core of the design is, you have a lot more freedom in solving problems that arise because as long as the solution serves that core you can do anything you want. Finding the touchstone of a design also allows you to weed out anything in the design that you don’t actually need, so that you can look at any given piece of the design and it has a reason for being there.
I think being a scenic and lighting designer is an interesting combo for someone to work as. Of course, lighting and scenery go hand in hand because the setting of a place will directly influence what kind of light is in a room and where it is coming from. Reading about Patrick Anthony’s process for making designs and what jumps out at him first shows me that we have a similar line of thinking. For both him and I, understanding and recreating the vibe and look of a place is first in our minds. Because many locations in theatre exist in the real world, understanding how that place is and feels helps you recreate the feeling on stage for the audience. What’s more, I liked hearing about the different sides of his process and how they sometimes conflict with one another. Both this and the ability to say “i don’t know”, which was also touched on, are important things to understand about yourself in order to make a better designer and collaborator with others.
lighting design is one of my preferred concentrations so i love hearing about people in the industry doing their jobs and achieving awards for it, especially for people who have been in the industry for a while and have grown along with the changing technology in theater.2009 is such a different time than 2024, it must be crazy to think about how much has changed and how technology has improved however it seems that the basics remain the same after all these years, practices from the past are still being learned in the modern day. Its interesting to think of the ways of someone who’s a scenic designer and a lighting thought process differs from everyone else’s train of thought, most people have a speciality in one area but someone who has skills in two different areas likely can utilize skills from both when they create their designs, i really like the idea that he he doesnt view the two as their own separate entities, instead they take up the same space in his head, i think that brings a uniqueness that differs from other designers and can create some really interesting sets that work significantly better with the lighting
It is always super cool to hear from designers in the industry because obviously they are doing what I want to do down the road. It is especially interesting to hear from a designer who specializes in more than just one field such as scenic and lighting design because I am also considering what that would look like for me, not necessarily with these specific fields but just in general. Hearing his experience and thoughts on how all the design aspects merge into one for him and how when given the liberty, he designs scenic and lighting in tandem is super interesting and also resonates with me a lot because that just makes sense as a design process to me. I wonder if he has a set process for each set or if he just visualizes as he goes and the designs naturally just come to him. I also appreciate how he is a visual person and the designs come a lot more easily when he is in the space and working very closely with the performers and director and not just reading off of a script.
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