That's how it should go, with just a few variations on when the Designer and Director first get together. Also, you could not go wrong to include the SM in these production meetings.

 

Essentially, it's a collaborative relationship. You need to be able to trust your designer's vision, just as your actors trust your vision as the director. But, if you see something you don't like don't be afraid to make suggestions, the same way I'm sure some of your actors would do with you.

 

Here's the alternative method ( I actually saw this.  I was a cast member and carpenter for the show, not THE carpenter mentioned).

 

Director and desinger never meet. Designer and carpenter get together to go over the design. Afterward, Carpenter talks about the sanity and sexual orientation of the Designer with colleagues and builds whatever they think is easiest and cheapest, keeping to the design as "close" as possible. Meanwhile, during rehearsals the Director makes notes on the progress of the set and tells the designer "we need to make some changes". So, the next day, the Designer stops in to see what's going on and discovers that the carpenter should stick to paint by numbers coloring books. After exchanging a few pleasantries, such as, "WHAT have you done you MORON!?!" (which is the nicest "Pleasanty" you're likely to hear).  Finally, once the Designer gets a grip (this could take several days), the designer, director, and carpenter finally get together and argue about what HAS to happen, what CAN happen, and HOW they're going to make it look good... in 3 days.

 

I really, REALLY reccomend the first method.

 

When I am not the director and am in one of the other two positions, I do my best to follow along with the director's best wishes.  There will be times when I have to tell a director "that's simply not going to happen."  I have over stepped as builder and built what I wanted and dealt with the fall out later (not pleasant). 

 

It is my opinion the Director is the molder of the show and needs to have his finger in as many pots as possible (but then I am a bit of a control freak).

 

My favorite are the designers that ask me questions. I worked with this new young light designer for my last show. He asked me questions about my feelings and emotions for the play. What he did for a light design reflected how I saw the play in an emotional way. I ended up with show that looked  the way I felt about the show. Now that was awesome!

 

I just watched a show come together in which no one had a handle on any part of the design. Not only did that reflect on the stage, but everyone left the experience feeling hurt and unappreciated. The show barely got on it's feet because everyone was working at cross purposes.

 

I agree with Patrick "the Director is the molder of the show and needs to have his finger in as many pots as possible. . ."  I am a bit of a control freak too. It seems to go with the territory.

 

Linda

 

Why not set yourself down with pencil and graph paper and see what you can knock together.  As long as you keep it to a scale your carpenter should have little or no problem banging it out for you.

 

Having said that, I do work with children, and while I have been trying to grow a CT in my area - it is a very slow process!  I don't have the all of the necessary traditional roles in place - so I beg, borrow and steal from whoever walks through the door and happens to look my way - god forbid they ask if I need help (the poor things) so I find myself having to maintain all of the key roles - director, set design, lighting, props, construction, etc.

 

Enough whining - I think if you have people in those roles, and are buidling something, you should try to build the support staff you would want to work with.  For the most part, people will rise to the expectation you set for them.

 

Good luck!

 

The third designer I worked with almost has a doctorate degree in design for theater so I always had good luck there.  ALL THREE of these people always came up with exceptional ideas to enhance what I wanted when I could and would have settled for much easier sets to build - but not only could they design them, but they also BUILT them too.  And the guy who ran the Opera House was ALSO their resident IATSE lighting designer as was the other guy a lighting designer too.  SO I had it made.  I TRUSTED these people - all of them.  And I allowed them the freedom to "go for it".  I even asked ONE of the designers if he could fly SNOOPY'S dog house for ChazBrown.  At first he looked at me like I was insane and I laughed it off.  He got the bug and we had a dog house that would remotely "lift off" and tilt to "flying" angle and with the appropriate sound cues, it was a major HIT with the audiences.  Then upon "landing" it would reverse and settle back to it's normal state.  VERY cool.  But I asked, at first he rejected it as impossible, but then like all creative people like him, he couldn't let it rest and NOT do it.  It was a challenge to HIM for HIMSELF and he came up with the way to do it and it was amazing.

 

I had ONE set designer who's husband owned a cabinet building shop and who's brother-in-law builds houses in the area.  Since we had a major POSH NEW YORK art dealer's apartment to create......oh, yeah, she was an interior designer and "borrowed" $50,000 worth of art work to hang and have on the set......well need I say how THAT set turned out?  Complete with CURVED fireplace and chimney and white sofa!!! YIKES!!! And along with 1000's of dollars worth of antiques....well I admit it WAS a bit overkill but with the custom made desk and custom kitchen cabinets that showed on the set.....well it was an amazing site.  I trusted HER expertise as well.

 

So set designers are worth their weight in gold when you can find a good one.  There HAVE been many sets I've had to design AND build myself (with some help).  But I learned MY lessons well enough and could come up with the things I needed when I couldn't have the luxury of these people who I always worked with.  I was lucky I guess to have great people who were creative and visionary to work with whom I could trust, leave them alone, and KNOW I would end up with hyper-realistic sets that looked as good as any I'd EVER seen, and in turn it not only enhanced what we were able to do, but even drew the occasional APPLAUSE upon the curtain opening because the sets were stunning upon first view.

 

BUT Barb that doesn't help you.  It doesn't count for a thing in your situation when you NEED a good set designer - and have one but who walks out on you because it's not "exciting enough" a show that they'd lend their hand to it.  What it boils down to is defining WHAT you ACTUALLY REALLY NEED and then embellish with a bit of icing to make it dramatically beautiful, ugly, depressing, uplifting, colorful, bland, etc, etc whatever adjective you need to enhance what the show calls for.  I HOPE you can find someone.  ALL it takes is someone who can LOGICALLY design a set that makes sense for the structure of the play taking into account what it's supposed to look like - then making the dressing and the finish work make sense with THAT.  As long as you can find the builders who know who to build realizing that there's only one side (usually) that needs to be finished (something I had to learn) then you should come up with something worth seeing and playing on.  I even used to finish the back sides of things until someone adamantly told me to stop doing that....asking WHY I did it in the first place??!!! Well they said the audience doesn't see the back side...but I retorted that they may not, but the ACTORS see the back sides.  I realized over time, actors get over that easily.  I mean just do Noises Off one time (which I did as an actor) and that makes it easier for me to swallow!!!

 

Anyway good luck.  HOPE you find someone who can design something for you that's sensible to build with the builders you have to put the puzzle pieces together.

 

TonyDi

 

Yeah, once in a blue moon everyone drops the ball and overlooks something and you have to scramble, but that had better be the exception and NOT the norm.  If it becomes the norm there's BIG problem somewhere.