She’s funny! She’s smart! She’s totally having a “moment.” And we’ve got her on the show today…it’s lighting designer Jen Schriever! Jen tells us about her making her Met debut with ‘Die Fledermaus’ and her Broadway debut with ‘Ghetto Klown.’ Jen and Cory chat about dealing with deadlines, focus nightmares, how to cue when your actors are just wigs on music stands, and it’s another Woody Harrelson story!
Today’s guest is set designer Brian Prather. Brian chats about his long relationship with Barrington Stage Company, re-designing his award-winning set for ‘Freud’s Last Session’ in the round, and how he made it through a two hour production meeting where everyone was speaking Korean. Cory and Brian compare moments in the design process that give them goosebumps and the pros and cons of falling back on what you know. It’s anther episode live from Queens…roomier, sunnier, and half as expensive as those podcasts from Manhattan!
Today’s guest is sound designer, Tony winner, and all around awesome dude Darron West. See if you can figure out how Darron manages to work on all the coolest projects…cause we can’t! He and Cory discuss ‘Peter and the Starcatcher’, ‘Queen of the Night’, ‘Kung Fu’, and an upcoming production of ‘The Tempest’ that sounds so crazy he might have made it up. Learn how companies like Actors Theatre of Louisville and SITI company have shaped his career and what it was like when he decided to sit in the director’s chair. And if that’s not enough, Darron regales us with stories of the original production of ‘Rent’ and how his Broadway debut led to partying it up with Quinten Tarentino!
Turn the lights down low, chain the door, and pour yourself a drink because we’re sitting down with lighting designer and living legend Ken Billington. Ken and Cory cover a wide range of topics from his biggest hit, “Chicago”, to his newest project, “Act One”, and other shows from his over 40 years in the business including “Footloose”, “Chaplin”, “The Visit”, “Sweeney Todd” and more. Ken tells us about learning the ropes from Tharon Musser, why you better be fast in a room with Hal Prince, how he introduced Bob Fosse to the magic of moving lights and why you should tuck in that shirt for goodness sakes! (Warning…management is not responsible for you walking into traffic while having your mind blown.)
Today’s guest is scenic and lighting designer David Arsenault. David and Cory discuss the pros and cons of living in New York City…from broken down subways, to lugging your own scenery through midtown, to dreaming of the suburbs. They discuss shows on their bucket list and offer a mini class in website and resume do’s and don’ts, including why you should never attach balloons to your resume. Pay attention…there will be a quiz!
The podcast has been seriously lacking in feminine charm and this week we’re rectifying that with sound designer and actual female Jill Du Boff! Jill chats about going on the road with Radiolab, how a baby that wouldn’t stop crying led to an awesome sound effect and how she is preparing the next generation of artists to think about sound design in a whole new way. Expect guest appearances from both her cat and her husband…it’s an episode for the whole family!
This week’s guest is projection designer Jeff Sugg. Cory and Jeff discuss how he accidentally became a commercial designer after years of working in experimental theater. Hear inside stories from ‘Bring It On’, ’33 Variations’, ‘Macbeth’, ‘The Last Five Years’ and other shows as Jeff chats about often being the last designer hired, why bad projections are so easy to find and his far reaching influences from 19th century optical magic to Polish theatre. AND did you know Jeff grew up on a compound in Saudi Arabia…hit play now to hear THAT story!
Prepare to turn the nerd dial to 11 on this episode. Our guest is LD/big time Broadway associate Craig Stelzenmuller. Cory and Craig compare processes for making light plots, documenting focuses, dealing with crews, and a whole host of other topics. Learn what Craig calls ‘political capital’ and how he uses it when working with big time designers like Paul Gallo, Natasha Katz, Hugh Vanstone and others.
Today’s guest is set designer Paul Tate dePoo III. He tells us how a hurricane may have prevented him from being the next David Copperfield, why he wants to design the Olympic opening ceremonies, and what is was like working for famed Broadway set designer Derek McClane. AND finally learn what it’s like going through life with a last name that begins with a lower case letter! Insanity!
Our guest today is Dane Laffrey. Dane is one of the hottest young designers working today and he spent a wintery Saturday morning with Cory talking about his life. He tells us how his training in Sydney has impacted his career and what it’s like having an impromptu interview with Woody Harrelson. Dane also catches us up to speed on his newest project, Chance Magazine, a magazine dedicated to photographic documentation of theatrical designs.