Interview: Theatre Life with Paige Hathaway

Welcome to Theatre Life, Broadway World DC's new interview column that will feature many of the artists that make up the country's second largest theatre community.

Some of you might know me from my A Quick 5 column on MD Theatre Guide which ran for almost five years. It is my hope that Theatre Life will pick up where A Quick 5 left off and I will be continuing to interview everyone that contributes to a production's success. This column will reinforce my credo that theatre is meant to educate as well as entertain. As such, in addition to featuring the artists that you have been watching for years, I am going to introduce you to some folks that are just starting out in the DC area theatre community. This brings me to the first artist I will feature in this column. Paige Hathaway is a new face in our community, but she has had a sort of meteoric rise. Here's hoping that you enjoy this new column on BWW and you enjoy reading about all of these very talented artists living a theatre life.

When you enter a theatre, the first thing you see is the set and lately many of these sets have been designed by Paige Hathaway, an up and coming scenic designer who is already landed some pretty big design gigs. She recently designed Another Way Home at Theater J and is currently assisting veteran designer James Kronzer on Angels in America at Round House Theatre, but perhaps one of her most impressive designs to date can be seen now through November 6th at Signature Theatre in the world premiere play, The Gulf. It's a totally immersive design that uses every inch of the Signature's Ark space.

Other area credits include productions at Studio Theatre, Folger Theatre, Forum Theatre and Olney Theatre Center with plays ranging from classics such as A Midsummer Night's Dream to new works like Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love. Nationally her work has been seen at The Muny and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.

I can think of no better talent to debut Theatre Life with than Paige Hathaway. Here is a young lady only two years out of getting her masters at the University of Maryland and she is already getting work over all over town. It's very nice when the stars align and the talent gets noticed. Next time you go to a show around town, look at the scenic design credits. If Paige Hathaway is listed as the designer, it's going to be a visual ride that you'll really enjoy.

Here's my exchange with the enormously and creatively talented Ms. Hathaway:

Most people want to get into the theatre so they can be seen onstage. Why did you choose to take a behind the scenes approach to your theatrical career, and what and or who got you interested in theatrical design?

Like most people in this business, I was originally interested in being an actor. Once I reached high school, I switched to working behind the scenes. I was on run crews for several shows and would help build, prop, and paint them. I enjoyed the comradery with my fellow crew members, the problem solving aspects of the work, and most of all the act of creation.

Can you please tell us a little something about your training?

My foundation is in fine art. I've been taking art classes, drawing, painting, and sculpting for as long as I can remember. As I was preparing to choose a school and undergraduate degree, my choice was between theater and fine art. I ultimately decided to pursue a degree in set design because it seemed to be a natural combination of my two passions. I received my BFA in Scenic Design from the University of Oklahoma in 2011 and my MFA in Scenic Design from the University of Maryland (UMD) in 2014.

One of your current projects is The Gulf at Signature Theatre. The audience configuration is a square meaning they are seated on all four sides of the set. Did that create any particular challenges that wouldn't have been if the show were on a proscenium stage?

Designing a show "in the round" is extremely different than designing for any other configuration. Having seating on all sides means that you can't have any vertical design elements (with some exceptions) because they would block sightlines. This means that you are mostly limited to designing a floor and a ceiling. Luckily, The Gulf lends itself to designing the show in this way.

Can you please take us through the process of designing The Gulf from first design to final product?

The process for The Gulf was thankfully very straight forward and smooth. Joe Calarco, the director, approached me with the project and the idea that it be staged in the round with a spinning boat and no actual water (the plot of the play surrounds two women stuck on a boat in the Alabama delta). From there, I did some visual research spanning many different topics; actual boats, stylized boats, the Alabama delta, ways of representing water, etc. Joe responded positively to several of the images and from there I created a rendering of the set. The design in my first rendering is essentially what is now on stage- which is not very common.

How much of a collaborative effort is it between you and the other designers on a production?

The degree of collaboration changes from project to project, but for The Gulf in particular it was important for me to collude with Andrew Cissna, the lighting designer. There are many different pieces of the set that we wanted to be able to illuminate, so Andrew and I had many conversations and a meeting or two discussion the most effective way to do so.

I imagine directors ask for some pretty outlandish things in the sets for their shows. What are some of the strangest or craziest things you have been asked to design by a director?

Honestly, I wouldn't consider anything a director has asked me to design as "crazy". Most of the time, their more outlandish or strange requests come from directly the text of the play itself or the emotional landscape that the piece evokes. One of my jobs is to help translate these ideas into something visual and practical. One of the most challenging designs I've recently had to conceive was for a new work called Night Falls on the Blue Planet, produced by Theatre Alliance in 2015. The play is about a woman who is either going insane or turning into a planet, which is certainly not a conventional premise. The set had to transform as she gets progressively more withdrawn from reality and more invested in her planet. It was an exciting and challenging play to design!

You recently graduated from UMD and already have designed at some of the area's biggest theatres. How does it feel to have lots of work lined up so early in your professional career and can you please tell us about your next few projects?

I feel incredibly grateful and privileged to have been welcomed by the DC theater community so quickly! I'm just happy to be here and able to support myself by designing. My upcoming projects include Little Thing, Big Thing directed by Rex Daugherty at Solas Nua, Ella Enchanted directed by Mary Hall Surface at Adventure Theatre MTC, The How and the Why directed by Shirley Serotsky at Theater J, and Or, directed by Aaron Posner at Round House Theatre.

Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.