Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2019 - 16

theme:" the different special effects that
the scenery can feature depending on
the venue and how far the budget will
stretch. In The Phantom of the Opera,
the opening of Act II features a large
staircase, at the base of which is a startopped candelabra. In London, the star
spins, casting light from dozens of pinholes. Allen remembers, "When we got
to New York, Maria said, 'Oh, let's have

the whole thing going!'" and now the
entire candelabra spins. International
productions will have either movement. Allen says that it is an easy budget cut, but that the effect is essentially
the same, and that either look comes
straight from Björnson herself, an illustration of Björnson's ever-spinning
mind, which was versatile to changing
environments.

Zoe Curlett as Christine
with Matthew Camelle
(Raoul), Alan Vicary (M.
Andre), David Delve (M.
Firmin) and Penny Shaw
(Mme Firmin). The Phantom
of the Opera, UK Tour, 1998.
Photograph by Michael Le
Poer Trench, ©CML.

16 |

THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

SPRING 2019

Allen investigates many contingency plans for the scenery before a
production enters a new space. For instance, he considers whether the scenery depicting the rooftop of the Paris
Opera House, which is featured during
"All I Ask of You" and its reprise, will be
flown in or lifted in from the basement.
Another group of pieces that have many
potential configurations backstage are
the staircase elements from "Masquerade." Allen explained that when they are
not in use, they are sometimes folded up
against the back wall, flown out, stacked
atop each other, or a combination of the
three. In almost all of these cases, Allen
will troubleshoot the possibilities based
on his knowledge of the scenery and the
space before sending his findings off to
an engineer for the final configuration.
On what guides him through reproductions of The Phantom of the Opera, Allen looks to lasting advice from
Björnson to "have a clear vision of what
it is you want to achieve in a design."
He muses, "I was going to say 'Don't
compromise,' but of course, you have
to compromise. You have to be clear
about what you really think is essential
about the design. Then it's going to be
easier to deal with." Having worked so
closely with Björnson, Allen has an intimate understanding of the design and
what was important to her. More than
just knowing, he appears to embody
this principle, which helps to direct the
transition of scenery from production to
production.
"She would worry away about
things, though," Allen says of Björnson.
"She'd always arrive in the morning and
go, 'I'm terribly worried about...' some
tiny detail." The detail was always part
of the bigger picture, Allen clarifies. It
was her constant appreciation of the
little details and their part in the bigger
picture that made Björnson such an accomplished designer.
Allen is not the only colleague who
remembers Björnson for her attention
to detail. Stewart Crosbie, production
manager for the São Paulo Phantom,
has been working on the show from
as far back as 1995 when he started
on the sit-down production in Basel,
Switzerland. He first met Bjronson in
the mid-1970s while working with The
Scottish Opera. "[She] was always verging on too much [detail] but never quite

Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Spring 2019