Making Theatre Dreams Come True: The Designer
Theatre Dreams are made from, and for, our subconscious.
For designer, Dann Barber, creating evocative ‘Dream Worlds’ is at the heart of his craft as a theatre maker. By comparison, he finds that designing for contemporary, realistic settings can often feel dull, almost pointless.
So, he’s in a happy place in 2022, designing a ‘meta-theatrical tale set in medieval Europe’. In the Australian premiere of The Amateurs, opening at Red Stitch’s theatre in Melbourne later this month, Barber finds a strangeness, a ‘turning in on itself in so many different ways’, that is kind of irresistible.
The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison. (Red Stitch, 2022)
Worlds within Worlds
Jordan Harrison’s 2017 play, which broke before the appearance of the Covid-19 pandemic, follows a troupe of mystery players in the 1300’s, trying to outrun the black death. It’s a self referential, funny, and wildly inventive look at the emergence of human creativity in a darker age. In terms of theatre dreams, it’s also a self-conscious meditation on the agency of the performer.
Medieval Fresco of a woman churning Butter with the Devil, Tingsted church, Denmark.
Masked players and wooden, biblical texts may not, of themselves, suggest the ‘rollicking’ night out promised by this ‘epic tragicomedy’. But Harrison’s use of anachronism, slapstick, and naturalistic asides, gives his Popular Mechanicals memorable humour and pathos. From the outside we can almost see right into the moment that ‘enlightenment’ dawns on mankind – as our leading actor discovers the possibility of individual expression.
The starting point for any designer, says Barber, is to thoroughly research the era in which the play is set. Inspiration comes from immersing oneself in the art and culture of the period, trying to see the way the world looked to its people, and finding the stories behind their choices in clothing, architecture, and personal effects.
Armed with this knowledge and his theatre dreams, he lets creativity flow:
“Once I feel comfortable with that information, I throw it to the wind and can begin to dream about the style and theatrical aesthetics the show can handle. Still keeping in mind the story and character. Trying not to pass judgements or to be too prescriptive…Surround yourself with the world and it’ll design itself.”
Dann Barber, Theatre Set and Costume Designer.
Building Theatre Dreams
Barber’s career spans an impressive number of successful plays, musicals and operas. Highlights include his award winning design for The Ghetto Cabaret at 45Downstairs, a bold reimagining of Barnum – The Circus Musical, starring Todd McKenny, and his marvellous realisation of Caryl Churchill’s Escaped Alone at Red Stitch in 2019.
A big part of the process is ‘procrastination’, and Dann has no qualms about letting ideas take their time. He describes himself as a ‘dreamer’ first and foremost, and likes to let things sit for a while.
From Escaped Alone at Red Stitch (2019).
His work is very much influenced by his study of drawing and fine art. A graduate of NIDA’s theatre school and RMIT, he also lectures at the VCA and Melbourne University in Model Making.
So, the first stage is often a ‘rendering’ in which he puts some initial thoughts to paper and presents them to the actors and creative team. It starts a conversation that allows the ‘collaboration’ between the designers, the makers, and the performers to evolve.
By putting expressions on his character drawings, for example, he lets the actors perhaps see themselves in the picture. It might give them a useful idea about the character, or ‘it can be ignored’. The point is to get the conversation to begin. Costume design, he says, is itself a ‘meta-world’:
“There are so many stories to every detail, and items have been touched and cared for by many people. It’s a lovely process and it takes forever like all good things should.”
How Beautiful Things Happen
Another big attraction to this show was the ‘theatre dream team’ Barber was asked to work alongside.
Rachel Burke, Lighting Design.
He’s a long time collaborator with Lighting Designer, Rachel Burke, whom he describes as a ‘dear friend and creative soul mate’. And it’s a relationship that’s understandable, given the interplay between good lighting and set design.
The pair include each other in all their discoveries throughout every stage of their process. ‘She has so much control over how the world looks; the colours she uses, how she manipulates light and shade’. It’s part of the joy of creating (and performing) in theatre. The sense that you’re making a work of art together, with the application of a collective imagination and intelligence.
‘If you think of the images on stage as a painting’, he says, ‘then we must paint together as one.’
Costume render for ‘Rona’ (Olga Makeeva) by Dann Barber.
Working with Director, Susie (Dee) was also ‘impossible to turn down’, says Dann. A long time fan of Dee’s work, it’s another of his theatre dreams to be collaborating with her. He says he was a little scared, if ‘honoured’, to be asked.
Time, Money, Fear, Doubt
A couple of weeks ago, in the lead up to the fittings for the show, Barber and a group of designer friends travelled to the coast to see just how much costume they could make together in five days.
Amidst all the stress of deadlines, his friends freely lent their time, talents (and hearts). They drank wine, and romanticised – like they were recording a Rolling Stones album in a rented villa in the south of France.
Actor, Brian Lipson, and Theatre Director, Susie Dee, in Melbourne this month rehearsing The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison.
For Dann, the work we make should be – and is so often made – with friends. Especially in the theatre, where time, budgets, fear and doubt are always a limitation. It’s like being part of the travelling theatre troupe in the play – you inevitably become a family of sorts.
“The endeavour of making theatre is an utterly absurd one. So much is against you – and working on a show of this scale, in a venue of Red Stitch’s size, is undoubtedly a challenge. However, from these challenges, beautiful things happen.”
The Australian Premiere of The Amateurs by Jordan Harrison opens on June 28 and runs through to July 24. Bookings redstitch.net