Four Things for a Designer to Remember...

A few meetings yesterday reminded me of several lessons from life as a theater set designer and, well, a designer in general.  Four little gems I'll pass on to you:

REMINDERS

(Believed public domain image.)

1) Always, always, ALWAYS double-check the dimensions of the stage.  Why?  Well last season I believed information provided by a venue - dimensions given for their own stage.  As this was an out-of-state theater, I couldn't easily check so chose to believe 'em.  MISTAKE.  Luckily I'd designed a set where one wall flat could be omitted if necessary without killing the design.  (I was a little paranoid.)  In the end more than one flat had to be cut!  (The design survived, luckily.)  But The Venue Lied Big Time.  So... double check stage dimensions.

2) Carry a sketchbook.  And a pen/pencil. Don't have 'em, you'll want 'em.

3) Remember a tape measure.  (See suggestions #1 and #2.)

4)  Bring extra copies of the drawings.  Even if you've already delivered plenty of sets.  Because the theater/director/builder/client will have forgotten/misplaced/lost theirs.

Remember these four basics and... well, you'll at least feel a bit more ready to cope with the real problems.