Nevertheless set design has been going on in a start and stop kinda way. I completed all the construction drawings for my black & white show The Frequency of Death in a motel room and I'm working on sketches for The Diary of Anne Frank in a guest room.
One professional trick I've learned over the years has come in very handy now: have a "traveling" design and drawing kit!
In my case the traveling kit is a mini drafting board with a parallel bar (I like to work on 8 1/2" x 11"* sheets), plus drafting pencils, pens, colored pencils, mini drafting triangles and scale all fitted into a very small black leather case. The drafting board isn't mandatory but, frankly, I've done all the drawings I ever want to on sticky kitchen tables or - horrors! - tile counter tops.
You never think you're going to need design much while on out of town... but sometimes you do. I've had to create colored renderings in beach-side rental houses, designed shows in motels, and especially re-designed elements of a show in restaurants, coffee shops, and on the phone in the car. Changes strike anywhere! And the designer must be prepared. So, when it became obvious that I'd be here longer and need to do more drawing than first thought, I supplemented this mini-kit with real-sized triangles, my handy electric eraser, and a few other things. But the expanded kit still fits in a smallish cardboard box.
For those who draft on the computer, the Kit could fit in a laptop... but you'd better practice a bit at using your drafting program on that teeny tiny screen. I don't think a smart phone is going to work.
Give it some thought... How would you get your projects finished if you had to leave town in an hour?
* Make that 11"x17" sheets! (Told you I was distracted.)
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