In November, I talked with designer and actor John Brady about the rewards and challenges of designing a stage set.

Q - What are the elements of a good stage design?

A - Balance. When you look at it, it has to look comfortable. When something’s badly designed, people may not know what it is, but they unconsciously ask, "What’s wrong?" I’ve looked at scenery that after an hour I don’t want to look at any more.

It starts with the script of course. You find out what’s required by the play’s action - and you research the period. Know basic stuff like whether they had phones or electric lighting.

It has to work physically. If there’s a bunch of doors and one of them sticks all the time, that will drive everybody nuts. If actors look like they’re having trouble getting up and down stairs, that will also drive you and everybody nuts.

Q - Talk about the process of working with a play’s director on the design for a production.

A - After reading the script, some ideas pop into your mind as to how it ought to look. You sit down with the director and some sketches and you say, "This is what I think." The director may say, "No, this is what I want - " and you negotiate, but the bottom line is they have the final decision. That’s their job. . . Then you can start work on what you’ve agreed is going to happen.

Q - Tell me how you got involved in theatre.

A - I was 15, and I was at Pacific Grove High. A friend of mine was in the drama class and said, "It’s kind of fun - why don’t you try it?" I did, and I said right away, "I’m home now.". . . My first role was Father Christmas in a Narnia trilogy. . . It’s been fun and I’ve loved working in theatre ever since.

I kept at it, off and on, through college at MPC and work at Children's Experimental Theatre in Carmel (see photo in Back Stage, page 10). That’s where I first met Stephen Moorer. Later, when he came up to me one day and said, "I’m starting a theatre," I laughed and said, "You’re joking, right?" But he said no, he had a Board of Directors and was getting funding - and so I designed a couple of shows for him when PacRep was just getting started. One was OF MICE AND MEN, and there was a send-up of Moliere called SCAPPINO, which I also acted in.

In 1984 I did a summer training program at ACT in San Francisco. I struggled to make a living in the Bay Area, did a few shows, returned to Monterey for a while and then went to Ashland to build sets for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Ashland was a really great place to work! You had all the materials and tools you needed plus ten guys to help. It was relentless: you did about eleven shows, worked all the time, never a dull moment!

THE MOUSE THAT ROARED MPC Theatre Company John as David Benter photo by Rita Carratello

Back in San Francisco, I designed for a couple of theatre companies, but made my living by stuff like retrofitting old buildings to keep them from falling down. . . I got tired of the big city, returned home in ‘96 and heard that Pacific Rep had bought the Golden Bough. I popped into the theatre, and John Rousseau and Stephen Moorer said, "Want a job?" and I said, "Sure," and I’ve been here at PacRep ever since, designing, building and sometimes acting.

Q - Is designing and building sets a tougher job than acting?

A - Yes. It’s physically a lot more demanding, and mentally it’s very challenging. Still, I suppose you could say the same about acting, especially if you’ve got a different full-time day job.

Q - Which of your set designs were you most pleased with and why?

A - I’d say HAY FEVER, PETER PAN and GUYS AND DOLLS. I was really happy with the way they looked.

Q - Which assignment or assignments offered you the biggest challenge?

A - BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. That was a workout! It was not my design, and we had a concept by one person and requirements for the action by another person. Yet another was saying how they wanted it to work. I was the one who had to actually do it! It was challenging - but it turned out lovely.

M BUTTERFLY

Then there was M BUTTERFLY. That was designed by Ramie Wikdahl. She’s wonderful, but when she showed me the plan for that ramp, I thought she was kidding - but we did it, and it was very striking. Doing it was more like sculpture than carpentry.

Q - Tell me about your present project, THE ROOTS OF ROCK 'N ROLL.

A - I’ve only seen bits and pieces of rehearsal, but I’m familiar with the work of the performers (it’s a concert piece), and they are all wonderful. The set is simple. It’s a kind of Ed Sullivan Show type - just platforms and risers and stairs and microphones. It’s the kind of setting the Beatles used to have.

Q - How about plans for the immediate future?

A - Around the PacRep building I’ll be fixing up the messy corners you always acquire by the end of a season, especially a season as busy as this one was. Stuff just gets thrown into corners to await a cleanup. We don’t keep a lot of stuff because there isn’t room to store any big units. Mostly we break it down for materials. Maybe you keep a really good doorway or fireplace if it’s not too bulky. . . We have a paint room that’s a total jumble at the moment, and I’ll do what has to be done. That’s how everyone works around here. All of us have several jobs. Today’s Tuesday, and I’ve been at work here every day since last Monday!

I’ll get Thanksgiving off - just the day . But once ROCK 'N ROLL opens, I’ll take some time off.