Transforming space over time : set design and visual storytelling with Broadway's legendary directors
Publication Information
Essex, Connecticut : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, imprint of Globe Pequot, [2022]
Physical Description
xiv, 334 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (black and white & color) ; 26 cm
Summary
"Transforming Space over Time tells the stories of six diverse productions: five on Broadway and one off Broadway. Tony Award-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt begins with the moment he was offered each job and takes readers through the conceptual development of a set, the challenges of its physical creation, and the intense process of readying it for the stage. Theater is at heart a collaborative art form, and Boritt shares revealing details of his work with the many professionals -- directors, designers, technicians, producers, stage managers, and actors -- who contribute their talent and ideas to each show. Included here are extensive conversations with theater legends James Lapine, Kenny Leon, Hal Prince, Susan Stroman, Jerry Zaks, and Stephen Sondheim, explaining how their different approaches to theater help to shape the vision for a set and best practices for creative collaboration. Boritt also offers valuable insights into the sometimes frustrating but unavoidable realities of the "biz" part of showbiz -- budgets, promotion, reviews, and awards. Full of indispensable advice for aspiring and seasoned professionals, and with plenty of entertaining and enlightening anecdotes to engage passionate theatergoers, Transforming Space over Time peels back the curtain and illuminates the artistry and craft of professional theatrical production -- and particularly the all-important collaboration of designers and directors"--Back cover.
Notes
Includes index.
Contents
- Foreword: how does he do it? / by Jason Robert Brown
- Prologue
- Fairy tale: designing Act One for James Lapine
- Deceptive perspective: a conversation with James Lapine
- Heartbreaker: designing The Scottsboro Boys for Susan Stroman
- Clear floor: a conversation with Susan Stroman
- Windows: designing Much Ado about Nothing for Kenny Leon
- Backyard: a conversation with Kenny Leon
- Chasing complicity: designing Prince of Broadway for Harold Prince
- Prince's tower: a conversation with Harold Prince
- Plumbing and poetry: designing Meteor Shower for Jerry Zaks
- Nomad's camp: a conversation with Jerry Zaks
- Puzzle: designing Sondheim on Sondheim for James Lapine
- Mecca: a conversation with Stephen Sondheim
- Epilogue: the future: advice for young designers
- Appendix: production credits.