2 minute read
SCENES behind the
Our upcoming 70th Anniversary Season will feature the first ever full-scale musical to be commissioned by Milwaukee Rep, Run Bambi Run. This musical will be quintessentially Milwaukee – the homegrown story about Lawrencia “Bambi” Bembenek’s journey from Milwaukee Police Officer to Playboy Bunny to convicted murderer and fugitive will be retold in this World Premiere production with music by Gordon Gano of Milwaukee’s Violent Femmes, and book by Academy Awardwinner and Milwaukee-native Eric Simonson. We spoke with scenic designer Scott Davis about how he is helping to bring this stranger than fiction story to our stage this fall.
What was your design process like on Run Bambi Run? Have there been any challenges along the way and if so how did you work through them?
The biggest challenge with a new musical is that the design has to be completed before the script is even finished. Because the writer and director make changes to the script throughout the rehearsal process while the set is being built, there is a bit of guesswork and anticipation that goes into the design process. With this show, the set is designed in a way that allows for the show to morph and change as the team sees fit. I do my best to make the design as specific as possible while still allowing other collaborators space to change their minds. The design has safety nets built into it to accommodate changes throughout the process. The storytelling theater style we are using in this production will give Mark Clements (Director) more leeway to change things on the fly than if every location was fully flushed out in a realistic way. We have come up with a tool box of elements and objects that arrange and shift to tell the story, and those can be used and arranged in infinite ways. But ultimately it is a group process to allow for other elements to continue to affect the scenery and props.
How have you and the other designers on the piece collaborated so far? As a scenic designer, how do you work with departments like costumes, lights, and props?
Theater is a very collaborative art form, especially when you are devising something new. This one has been a little different in that the costume design has had to happen later than usual because of the nature of how this show is being created. That being said, Mieka van der Ploeg (Costume Designer) and I work together a lot. We understand each other’s work in a way that can help us create a world that is cohesive, and tells the same story alongside each other. This show also has a lot of imbedded lights and video elements. We were interested in video content being able to surround the action and appear in surprising ways, and all needed to be figured out before we begin to build the set.
What is the element of the scenic design that you are most excited for the audience to see?
There is a lot of detail in the treatment and dressing of the set (the decorative elements such as furniture, wall art, and flooring) that places us in a classic Milwaukee bar in the midto late-70s and early 80s, such as recreations of real punk/rock band posters from that time. I am hoping it’s so specific that Milwaukee-natives in the audience will be able to conjure up the memory of the smells and sounds of these spaces before the show even begins.
Run Bambi Run will appear on the Quadracci Powerhouse stage from September 13th – October 22nd, 2023. For more information, visit MilwaukeeRep.com.