Scott Cooper is happy to be returning to Jobsite Theater as the set designer for And Baby Makes Seven. At TBPAC, he last designed Jewtopia, HATS! and Jobsite’s Boston Marriage. Scott is the production coordinator for American Stage Theatre in St. Petersburg (ed. note: where he recently had an astounding set design on display for their production of DOUBT). He was voted Best Scenic Designer in the Best of the Bay awards in 2007. His work has been seen locally at American Stage, Stageworks, the Shimberg Playhouse and in Chicago at both the Goodman and Steppenwolf Theatres. He is a member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829.
I asked the cast and crew over the weekend to let me know if they had anything to contribute in the way for material for the blog, and Scott was kind enough to share with us how he came up with the design for And Baby Makes Seven.
From Scott:
The idea that struck me most about the play is that the world that the women have created around themselves is imaginary … I found that fascinating. So, I was thinking about ‘family’ and what it means to people to be surrounded by family and mementos. Thus the idea of using the empty picture frames as the backdrop – a family gallery if you will – that pretty much makes a statement of their world. The rest is just what the play needs – a kitchen, furniture, exits and entrances – so that’s what I have put inside this imaginary family world that they live in. Seven of the picture frames will somehow represent the seven characters in the play – probably with either something in them (not a photo, but something) or the color of those frames will be different from the others.
My thought always is if the audience gets it, great, and hopefully it will make the play just that much more of an event in their life. If not – well, I tried. 🙂
(Click for a larger view)
