“Oh my god. Why?!?”
That was the reaction when the set designer for a show at Lincoln Center explained why he was in New York. He had a career in movies and television that was humming along. He had just finished filming the second Austin Powers movie. He had done the production design for Donnie Darko and a bunch of other work that most folks would recognize.
“Why would you do that?” that is theater design. At the time I assumed that this person (I forget who it was, or what they did for a living) thought live performances were cheesy (well, true. most of the world loves cheese, though, correct?) or the audiences were small compared to movie audiences (we justify this one by saying that it is a more potent, moving experience. Maybe.). When I think back on that lunch, so many years later, those two reasons still hold weight.
But the biggie, that all of those movie people knew, is crystal clear to me now. After that lunch I asked, and another set designer explained it to me:
“He’s going …
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