Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2009 - 17

That's a really ephemeral thing. How do you put your finger on it?

Were the production concepts different for each one?

Ming always said music has a certain weight-the design has to look
the way the music sounds. It's tonality, the depth or transparency
of the orchestration. These things dictate a palette or weight to the
scenery. For instance, there is a huge musical difference between
Tchaikovsky's ballets, Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. The music
for Swan Lake is very dramatic, huge, and visually it needs to be
as grand as possible. The Nutcracker has grand moments-the
growing tree, parts of the land of Snow, and the final pas-but it
is much more "refined" in general. Sleeping Beauty is another
whole story. Completely different-more French.

All four were very different. Milwaukee was 1840s Russia. American
Repertory ballet, as I said, was Wiener Werkstätte. Terry Orr wanted
his to be set in Pittsburgh at the turn of the century with several
specific local references. The land of Snow overlooks the junction
of the three rivers, the second act evokes a famous amusement park
outside the city, and the show curtain depicts an actual mansion
from the period (since demolished). For Calgary, Edmund Stripe
and I decided to do it in Russia at the turn of the century. When we
first talked he was undecided-Germany or Russia? but after he
disclosed how much he liked uniforms I pushed for Russia, which
I am predisposed to anyway. He ran with it and came up with some
very original ideas. He didn't want big snow covered pine trees
for the land of Snow, he wanted frozen tundra and a Snow Tsarina
accompanied by arctic wolves.

So you have to enjoy and understand the feeling of music to be
a good dance designer?
I think so. Take the growing Christmas tree in The Nutcracker. This is
typically the main event in Act I. but it isn't for me because musically
it can't be. You can't make the tree come up to that music-it goes
on too long and has three huge crescendos. Something has to happen
for each one. That's why I make the entire room grow. by the time we
get to the crash at the end we are somewhere else.

Between 1998 and 2008 you designed scenery and costumes
for four Nutcrackers. How did you meet the choreographers?
For the first one, in Milwaukee, their production manager, Willy
McClaren, came to New York to interview several designers whose
names were given to him by United Scenic Artists, of which I was
one. Once I was chosen I was put in touch with lisa de Ribere,
the choreographer. We had lunch and began working.
After Milwaukee I got a call from American Repertory ballet
wondering if I would be interested in another Nutcracker, with
Graham lustig. I didn't understand if this was really a question-I
mean, why not? And when we met and he described his idea of
setting it in vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century-
Wiener Werkstätte-I was jumping up and down because it is a
period and style I am very familiar with and love. His ideas were
original and witty and very appealing to me in an untraditional way.
A year later, after seeing my Swan Lake for AbT, Terry
Orr called from Pittsburgh ballet Theatre to ask me to do his
production.
The Alberta ballet production happened through a
recommendation. I had just done a production of balanchine's
Don Quixote with the National ballet of Canada and Suzanne
Farrell ballet. The production manager from Alberta, Harry
Paterson, asked Jim Thornley from the National to suggest
designers for a planned new Nutcracker. I was asked to send
examples of my work to Calgary and heard nothing for almost
three months. I assumed they would hire a Canadian, but ended
up with my fourth production.

Milwaukee Ballet; Act I, Marie and Friends.
Photo by Richard Brodzeller.
Milwaukee Ballet; Marie costume sketch.

[Editor's note: Wiener Werkstätte was a group of designers and craftspeople in Vienna in
the early 1900s. Their work was inspired by the English Arts and Crafts Movement and
had an elegant "square style" that celebrated the beauty of geometry.]

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2009
