Interview: Tech Talk with Set Designer Lisa Laratta

One of the more clearly visible technical aspects of a show for average theatre-goers is the set. What isn't quite as clear is just what goes into the creation of the world the characters inhabit in the play you are seeing. Set design, sometimes called scenic design, is the art of designing and creating the sets used in plays or movies. At times, designing can be as simple as arranging a few pieces of furniture on a stage. That type of set design is not what one thinks of, however, when one talks to set designer, Lisa Laratta, the subject of this edition of Tech Talk.

BWW: Can you give our readers a little background on you?

LL: I started as a scene painter in my college days back in Toronto. My love for and curiosity about architecture and design pushed me to further my studies, and I got my MFA 8 years ago in theatrical design here in Austin and have been living and working here ever since. I started a theatre company shortly after graduation called paper chairs with some very talented people and we produce new and rarely seen plays. Much of my year is planning and working with paper chairs, but I also work with the Rude Mechs, SVT, Rubber Rep (R.I.P.) and St. Edward's University. I love to sink my teeth into new plays, particularly if the writer is part of the production process, but I also have some Shakespeare and old Russian playwrights under my belt. Recently I have been producing and directing shows as well.

BWW: Why did you get into set design?

LL: I think it was a combination of ambition and indecision. In school I was into everything. Art, Language, Math, Science, Music, Gym... everything. I wasn't amazing at anything in particular, and couldn't decide what to pursue. I didn't want to focus on one thing and eliminate some of my other interests, so I went into theatre design because I had a sense of the scope that it demanded.

BWW: Where in Austin have you done design work?

LL: I have designed sets at UT (Katrina: The Girl Who Wanted Her Name Back, Ashes, Ashes, Lily Plants a Garden), at St. Edwards University's Mary Moody Northern Theatre (Carousel, A Lie of the Mind, Spitfire Grill, Measure for Measure, Hamlet), at the Vortex (Murder Ballad Murder Mystery, Hillcountry Underbelly) at the old Blue Theater (Ophelia), at the Off Center (Now Now Oh Now, Stop Hitting Yourself, The Suicide), at SVT (Machinal, Baal, Heddatron, Biography of Physical Sensations, Pig Pile, Mast) and other shows that were site specific, produced by paper chairs (Woodwork, Boom For Real).

BWW: What is your training?

LL: I got into theatre in high school, and continued on to my BFA in theatrical design at Ryerson University in Toronto, while also taking courses in architecture and interior design. Later I pursued my MFA at University of Texas at Austin.

BWW: Do you have mentors or influences?

LL: I don't have a set design mentor or idol per se, but I do take influence from many different things. I keep my eyes open for inspiration constantly, looking for painters, sculptors, architects and installation artists, and try to keep the gestures and particularities of those artists stored in my memory to reach for on projects where that energy, composition, color and texture seems to fit with the text.

BWW: When you sign on to design a show; where do you start?

LL: I reach into my mental library of artists and look for inspiration, stumble around at the library, do some internet browsing, try to listen to music that feels like the play. I also take long walks with an eye open for natural patterns and textures. I will read the play numerous times throughout the design process to make sure I am on the right track.

BWW: What resources do you consult? Are there any books you use? Do you look at pictures from past versions of the same show?

LL: I tend to mostly work on plays that haven't been produced by anyone else, so I often can't look at past versions. I love to have the advantage of the audience not having expectations in terms of story or moments, so that when they walk into the space the set inspires questions and curiosity about the show. I try to harness the joy of possibilities in each set. The show will always have particular scenic demands - a 2nd story, a street scene, a boat scene, a time period, etc; but I try not to obsess on solving these demands in the first part of the process. I like to have a strong sense of how the world feels before I make decisions on specific scenery.

BWW: How much inspiration for your design do you draw from the script? How much of it is the director's input, and how much of it is your own ideas?

LL: I find many of the clues about the atmosphere of the show in the text. I try to make my own way into the script by making my own discoveries as to why putting on this play here and now in Austin is important and relevant, and filter the design through these discoveries.

I always have long and detailed conversations with the director about how the action functions, how presentational or natural we want to be, what tone we are trying to strike and what individual moments should feel like. No matter how conceptually solid or beautiful my work might be, it doesn't serve the play if the director isn't totally on board, so I spend time making a detailed model so that everyone understands what my idea of the set is and how it could work from moment to moment. I try to throw all ego out the window and be open to ideas from the director, other designers and actors, and accept criticism as a means of making the set better, the play better, and my process better.

The architecture of the venue plays a big part in the process, and I really think long and hard about the relationship of the audience to the stage for each piece, and re-arrange audience configuration if it suits the play.

BWW: What is your basic schedule, from being signed onto a show through opening night?

LL: It really depends on the show. The process is usually 6-8 months from signing on to opening night if it is an existing script. A new script could be a 1, 2, 3, or even 4 year process. I love to filter and stew and edit my ideas, so working on something for a long time is very rewarding. Paper chairs presented Mast last summer, a new play by Elizabeth Doss last year that I had been involved with for at least 3 years. It was an exhilarating process, but I still feel like if I had 2 or 3 more years to think about it it would have been an even better set. I think that is one of the things that drives me as a theatre-maker: constantly having to learn and to adapt, with the perfect set just out of reach.

BWW: When is your schedule the busiest?

LL: I try to be constantly working, even if I am reading, taking in other peoples' art and shows, looking for inspiration. My process usually has two big peaks in activity. One is the transition from ideas and concepts to the manifestation of the design. Turning the abstract into blueprints, a scale model. Trying to solve the physical demands of the text while creating a cohesive, beautiful and appropriate world. The other peak time is from load-in through tech and opening. Building and painting the set, watching the actors use the architecture, noticing how costumes are playing with the set, observing lighting and making adjustments to make things as meaningful and visually pleasing as possible.

BWW: Most audience members aren't even aware of the planning that goes into a show. Do you often participate in production meetings and/or design meetings? How do you prepare for meetings? What do you bring to the team at the start?

LL: Much of the time I am a producer as well as designer; so yes, I try to be at all meetings. I think the more you know about any and all facets of the production, the better your design ends up being. Even if I am not producing, I take any opportunity I can get to talk to my collaborators and spend time getting to know them. I always keep it loose at the beginning, usually sharing a few research images or a piece of music that I find connects with how I want to present the text.

BWW: Do you make your budget or is it more often given to you at the start? What do you take into consideration when making your budget? If items aren't available to you and not considered in the budget, how do you obtain them?

LL: I do have a say in my budget if I am producing, but I am given a budget when I am freelancing with another company. I find that if I did my visual research well a small budget is just another challenge to overcome, like venue limitations or tight deadlines, and that I can make things work if I have a solid conceptual groundwork. Having said that, there is a lot of beg, borrow and steal that I do to make my designs come to life. Thanks to everyone who has ever loaned me something, given me something, driven me somewhere to pick something up or let me root through your bulk trash to collect things.

BWW: What are the biggest challenges you find in designing?

LL: I have very basic building skills, and I rely on a technical director's knowledge and craft, scheduling and budgeting skills to realize a design. I try to save my brain space and physical energy for being available for design meetings, showing up for rehearsals as much as possible, painting, and collecting and shopping for furniture and props. Many theatre companies don't budget for a technical director and expect the designer to build the set on top of everything else. If I am obsessing about how something is being made, instead of what and why, my design is limited and not set up for success. I value the skill and training a technical director brings to a project and love to collaborate with one whenever possible.

BWW: What are your three favorite productions you've designed and why are they your favorites?

LL: Right now I am thinking about Heddatron at SVT from 2011. I think it was dynamic and interesting and really functioned well. It had a 40' whitewashed wall of found objects that was projected onto, and real robots!

I am also proud of Measure for Measure at St. Edwards' Mary Moody Northern Theatre which had a large but delicate paper sculpture floating above the stage and audience. Kathryn Eader did an amazing job lighting it.

And in the spirit of excitement and optimism, I'm going to say my set for Elizabeth Doss' Poor Herman, which opens in May. I am working on the design right now and it's going to be a beauty!!

BWW: Is there anything else you'd like to share with the readers of BroadwayWorld?

LL: Thanks for letting me blab about this!

Thank you, Lisa for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give our readers a look at the processes that go into the set they see when they go to the theatre... and I am very much looking forward to Poor Herman!

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