Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
November 3, 2011
An Interview with Set Designer Todd Rosenthal
The blog and myself were sick yet again, so I will be posting today and tomorrow to make up for our mutual absence on Tuesday. I have a lot of great material about the set of An Iliad, so instead of cramming it into one post, I am going to spread it out over two posts and create what I am calling a “blog saga.”
Blog Saga Part 1: An Interview with Set Designer Todd Rosenthal
1) Tell me about the design concept for the set of An Iliad
We want the space to feel like an ancient sight, but not too specific. Is it an ancient bath, a temple, a swimming pool? It needs to be ambiguous like the narrator, but antiquated.The walls are covered with ancient graffiti, so the space resembles an insane asylum covered with possessed scrawling. The poet onstage is a reluctant narrator. The story of the Iliad is being channeled through him, and he tries to stop, but he can’t. We want the space to reflect this struggle. The white fabric above the set came out of artists depictions of ancient theaters that were covered with awnings to protect the audience from the elements. We also wanted to control the color and texture of the sky.
2) How did the design concept for An Iliad change and evolve over time?
The stage directions infer that the poet enters into a space that is not his own. He enters into our space. So Charlie and I originally imagined a contemporary theater space. But, we eventually felt it would more interesting to make the space that could transport the audience to another time.
3) What is your favorite part of the design and why?
The fabric overhead. It makes the theater intimate and unified. It makes the theater go away, and it creates a space where a community of people can listen to a story under a tent.
4) You have quite a large body of work—do you think this set is a good representation of your “style” or does it differ in any major ways from your usual work?
I always try to create a space with a strong point of view that has enough detail to reflect the history of the people who inhabit it. This fits into that category.
5) Is there anything else you’d like to share about the design or process?
It’s great to be back at Court Theater. It’s been 10 years.
You can check out Todd’s body of work on his website: www.toddar.com
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