FAQs

The following is a list of questions we often get asked about our design work and how we work together as a couple.  If you have any questions that are not answered here, please feel free to call or email us.   Click here for our contact information. How do you work as a team? We have never really been able to explain how we work together.  It just happens. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses and therefore gravitate to certain things that need to get done.  We rarely have to discuss who is going to do what.  It just happens.   Typically we both read the script, listen to the music, etc.  We then discuss ideas  and work off of each other to discover all the possibilities for the design.  After that,  one of us works on the drafting and paperwork, and the other proofreads all the work. Once we are in the theater,  we both lead focus and help with any technical work that needs to be done.  Usually, just one of us keeps track of changes to the plot.  When we start to write cues, we are both in communication with the light board operator.  Usually one of us gets a general look onstage, then we both work to get the details of each cue. As a team, we have four eyes watching the stage.  Most of the time, we think alike enough that in pressure situations during tech, any change one of us makes is acceptable to the other.   How do you work as a couple? We have had an amazing relationship ever since the first day we met.  We can spend 24 hours a day together and not get tired of each other.  We rarely argue and quickly resolve any disagreements.  This probably sounds too good to be true, but it is.  Our biggest arguments usually have to do with taking credit for picking a certain color that worked well or who was responsible for the best looking cue in the show. Our personal relationship allows us to work together and support each other to bring out the best in each of us. What are the advantages and dis-advantages to working as a team? There are several advantages to working together.  We have the emotional support from each other when things get stressful.  By having two designers, there are twice as many ideas and solutions.  Also, we can double book ourselves and do two shows at once by having one person tech one show while the other person techs the other. The main disadvantage to designing together is that we usually have to split the design fee.   Other than that, we have trouble finding any disadvantages. Do you have a style of design? We like to approach each production with a blank slate.  No two productions have the same needs.  Therefore, we try not to have any preconceived notions of what a show needs.   However, one aspect of design that tends to be consistent for us is the use of  a lot of color.  We like the way colors can help create a mood and set a scene.  By having more colors to work with in our plot, we can vary the looks throughout a show and avoid monotony. In musicals and less realistic plays, we like the way color can romanticize a show.