Til the curtain goes out

Guest writer: Thomas Boyd, Houston Ballet production director and set designer of Stanton Welch’s The Four Seasons

I guess it was about this time last year, August/September of 2006, when Stanton (Welch) and I started brainstorming ideas about the set design of The Four Seasons. The first thing you do in the set design process is to define the clearest idea possible of the objective(s), be that the choreographer’s vision, staying in budget, tourability, personal best, whatever. Fortunately for me, Stanton was very clear that he wanted a large tree to be the one main, if not the only scenic element for the ballet. And, he knew he wanted it to be realistic, in other words not theatrical, or some hokey illusion, but a “real” tree.

After that initial meeting, I began researching. As time allows, I do as much research as possible of source images, style, music, color, mechanics, logistics, etc. when designing a brand new set. There is no way to know at this stage what ideas will survive and what won’t. There is no limit or rule to research other than a vague sense of what might be appropriate to the piece and the understanding that this design is like a series of problems to solve. The solutions to the various problems can result from just about any source material or activity: personal archive, the library, travel, movies, books, museums, specific artists, personal experience, and on and on. Slowly, the research reveals ideas and images that will eventually produce a result the designer and choreographer are happy with, or at least are jointly willing to take a chance on.

I sketched several versions of the set before I showed Stanton anything, so by the time he looked at the sketch, I felt that it had a good chance of being close to something he would like. After the sketching process, I started to put together a scale model. I am completely fascinated with this idea of “scale.” To develop an idea, an image, or create an environment in a particular size or scale, and then see it reproduced hundreds of times larger is pretty darn exciting. Actually, it’s pretty scary watching the set come off the truck, or standing onstage waiting for a drop to fly out. The studio time spent working it all out in the model is so much work, but also thrilling when it starts to come together.

So, I guess my favorite part of designing sets is the process itself, because it is life itself: work then reward, work then reward, back and forth til the curtain goes out. I hope you enjoy the result!

-Tom

Sketch of The Four Seasons set design by Thomas Boyd. All rights reserved.

Stitch, dye, fit, repeat

Guest writer:  Erin Lee, Houston Ballet wardrobe assistant

 

Well, the Houston Ballet wardrobe department is up and rolling!  Actually…we never really shut down.  After closing the 2006/2007 season, we were able to really get busy preparing for what’s up and coming.

In the wardrobe production room we’ve been focused mainly on the first show of the new season, The Merry Widow.  These costumes have a history all their own.  Designed by Roberta Guidi di Bagno, they began their life in Italy many years ago.  The tags inside hint that they have also spent time in Denmark and the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle before being purchased by Houston Ballet earlier this year.  We were recently informed that Ms. di Bagno herself will be attending dress rehearsals and perhaps a performance or two; she just happens to have family in town.  

Across the hall in the costume shop, fabric has been flying for The Four Seasons, Stanton Welch’s world premiere ballet with costumes designed by Kandis Cook.  This is a project that has been in the works since early spring.  Almost every costume for this show has been patterned, cut, stitched and dyed here in the shop…no small undertaking.   

Costume sketch of Spring Father and Mother by Kandis Cook; all rights reserved.

With the vast number of costumes required for the first series of dances (nearly 120 for The Merry Widow and 40 for The Four Seasons, not to mention the two other ballets that accompany The Four Seasons production), our fitting schedule has been rather intense. We average at least 10 fittings every day until the end of August.  And then comes The Nutcracker…

 

We all manage to stay busy, and we run around like crazy people, but the end absolutely justifies the temporary madness.  As each day progresses, seeing things come together always makes me look forward to the final product.  We get to do what we love for a living, and hopefully our devotion reveals itself each time the curtain rises.

 

That’s all for now, my fittings start soon!

 

Erin