BRINGING THE WORLD TO LIFE: MICAH HARVEY

How do you combine everything into a cohesive look that has everything you want as a designer, everything the director wants, doesn't ruin the life of the lighting designer and takes into account sight lines and the overall budget? Everyone has their own methods. Some sketch like crazy, some talk it out, some make vision boards. In this case, I found myself doing all three. Looking at what I first sketched out versus what we are landing on, I see two different beasts, but some initial work still holds true.

During our first meeting with designers and actors I started scribbling key words everyone was saying that gave them a certain feeling when they read the text. I've let these words guide what our final product will be, leaving this scenery not just as mine or the director’s, but rather one belonging to the entire cast and crew.

But the only way to know if you like what you see is to make a model and see how it looks from all angles. Models are a great way to allow all technicians and actors to understand what they will be working with. This is wonderful for collaboration, and helps problem solve any issues before they arrive.

This experience has been long, frustrating at times, but also very rewarding and insightful on how to look at a show in a deeper way. Also, at least we don't have to build a boat!