CREATIVE TEAM INTERVIEWS
SET & COSTUME DESIGN
MARK THOMPSON
Mark’s work includes Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mamma Mia!, opera at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Sydney Opera House, and numerous plays at London’s National Theatre.
The work of the set and costume designer is very much about finding elegant solutions to theatrical problems, rather than just creating scenery to show location. Phyllida’s (Director) focus is the creation of truth on stage, rather than simply creating a glitzy spectacular, and design can be very helpful in that process.
There are a lot of different locations in the play – from backstage at a stadium concert, to various dressing rooms, domestic interiors, studios, clubs. There are little domestic scenes in which we are waiting to find out who’s behind the door. Some scenes need small intimate spaces, others need to be much larger and so we need to increase or decrease the size – a bit like a lung breathing in and out!
Katori Hall’s script is very filmic – it has a lot of very short scenes and rapid transitions. In film, those transitions would simply cut from one scene to another. With stage design, it’s not always easy to achieve those rapid changes. One of our biggest tools is the headers (horizontal flying piece or panel) which can drop in order to create smaller, more intimate settings, or fly back out to enlarge a space. Of course, Bruno’s lighting design defines space by using light (for example the recording booth at Phil Spector’s studio) too.
In our design concept Nutbush has an old world, sepia feel to it: lighting and projection is important in creating this world too. Then we have several doors and walls that are brought up through trapdoors in the stage for domestic scenes such as Velma’s kitchen. These allow very rapid transitions. The rim revolve also allows quick transitions and it’s used beautifully in Private Dancer to create the seedy underside of clubs.
Designers have to work closely with other members of the creative team such as the fight director. For example, Tina’s dress for Proud Mary is covered in glass bugle beads – not ideal for an intense fight scene between Ike and Tina. We therefore had to find appropriate, and theatrical, solutions to those problems. The solution we found to this particular issue actually helps accentuate Tina’s sense of vulnerability as she is reduced to a silk slip when she finally escapes from Ike.
Costumes really help develop a character’s story arc. We not only use this for Tina, but also Ike. He starts in a white suit – a bit like a white knight, coming to save Tina – but as he begins to use drugs and abuse Tina, his snappy style deteriorates into singlets and we see how far Ike has fallen. Ike’s hair also starts to change – this helps us navigate the passage of time, too. When Ike makes an appearance later, ‘haunting’ Tina’ memory, he is back in his white suit, emphasising just how much he has changed.
There are over 200 wigs in this production – Tina has at least 7. One of the challenges of designing costume, hair and make up for this show is that Tina is rarely off stage and so we had to find creative ways of creating those on-stage changes: something Anthony (Van Laast, Choreographer) is very good at. We use tricks like magnets in clothing seams to aid quick changes (look out for the moment Anna Mae changes from a recent arrival from Nutbush to being ready to go to Club Manhattan, in Shake a Tail Feather, for example).
Advice for aspiring costume designers: not all costumes are designed and made from scratch. When you’re working on a tight budget, it can be a case of scouring second-hand shops, and also buying from high street stores and making small changes. Sometimes it can be as simple as adding a few sequins or crystals on to a shop bought outfit: those added elements will help catch the light and ‘lift’ the costume in terms of its visual effect for the audience.
Advice for aspiring set designers: when starting the process, look at the basic question, ‘what do we need?’. Do characters needs to sit down? If so, chairs are needed. Is there a table? A door? When you start to plot those items in, a rhythm starts to happen and you can start problem solving. Mood boards are helpful (in costume as well as set design so that you can communicate your ideas and show development throughout the play.