18.Mar.2010 The Designers of Becky’s New Car Discuss their Concepts
Zero to Sixty
Kate Sutton-Johnson Scenic Designer
The staging dynamics for Becky’s New Car drove the set concept and early environmental decisions more than any other style choice. The pace at which Becky’s story unfolds and the undeniable sense that the various locations in her life overlap and occupy a shared space were departure points from which the set was conceived. The repeating doorways provide quick surprise entrances, while their overall effect is one of theatricality and whimsy. The set attempts to capture a contemporary, somewhat pedestrian look, while at the same time providing a highly presentational and theatrical space: 1950s rambler meets Shakespeare’s Globe.
Nan Zabriskie Costume Designer
Steven Dietz has given us a play full of truths, full of personal journeys, full of humor, and full of depth. As we looked at the rhythm and structure of the play, we knew we needed seamless, simple, and fast transitions to capture both the melodrama and the poignantly serious aspects of Becky’s journey. Clothes would need to be changed, but not too many, and not too often. Simplicity became our watchword. “What do we really need to tell help our characters tell their stories?” became our guiding question. Establishing location (a city like Seattle), establishing time period (the present), establishing season (summer), and most importantly establishing personalities and relationships. One of my favorite parts of the design process is when the director and designers dig deeply into the script to find our interpretations. Ideas fly, images are presented, and together we create a world. We have to satisfy the logistics of the play while finding (in my case) the item of clothing that most effectively illuminates the character. Where does she shop? How does she feel about her body? What colors does she like? What colors establish the right balance with the other characters in the scene? What class of society is she in? Do we want her to look good in this scene? Becky Foster has many transitions from wife to worker to mother to 40-year-old woman who may want a new life. While it is not our intention to realistically depict each transition, some transitions (such as her on-stage change to a party dress) must be quite specific and realistic, while others may not even involve a clothing change. As Becky’s life gets more complicated, she cannot quite keep up with the pace of the play. Realism is supplanted by theatricality, as clothes do not get changed in accordance with time and locale. Becky’s story is one of seven in the play, and each has provided James Still and me with lots of fun and sometimes incredibly geeky discussion. The final story will be told by the actors who take our ideas add their own, bringing to life the full characters you will live with for an evening.
Michael Lincoln Lighting Designer
Built into the script of Becky’s New Car is the necessity to shift instantly from one location to the next. As the play picks up momentum in the second act, the collision of those separate realities becomes part of the humor of the play. The lighting design is the key to providing those instant shifts, so establishing them clearly and distinctly in the first act is critical. To this end, the director, the set designer, and I have collaborated to build light sources into the set, which motivate those changes. One simple example is a desk lamp that has two different bulbs on separate circuits, so that when Becky is home it’s warm and inviting but when the scene pops into her cubicle at work, the lamplight is a fluorescent source that is harsher. There are many other examples; see if you notice them!
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