Behind the Scenes

Tim Bennett   Photo: Henry Perez

Name:  Tim Bennett

City of Birth:  I was born and grew up on a farm near Fairfield Iowa

City of Residence:  Boca Raton

Occupation:  Scenic designer for the Caldwell Theatre Company

Credits and Awards:  Two Carbonell Awards for Best Set Design, one Carbonell Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, one Curtain Up Award for Best Set Design

How did you get into theatre?
My first play was written by my mother and performed in the church basement when I was three. I have been doing theatre in one form or another since then.

What inspired you to become a scenic designer?
I have always been interested in woodworking and I have also always studied history. Theatre design was a good way to put the two together.

How long have you been a scenic designer?
I did my first professional design in 1974.

What is the process of creating a set, from the page to the stage?
The first step is to read the play, usually several times, to determine all of the “needs,” such as time, period, location, style, physical needs such as doors, windows, furniture trees etc. and the overall feeling that is to be conveyed. I must work closely with the director, who has the overall vision of the final product. I must also coordinate with the lighting, costume, and other designers.  The next step is to do sketches and ground plans until I have a look that I and everyone else is happy with. Once that is accomplished, the final drawings are passed on to the shop to be built. I then begin to coordinate with the prop master on the furniture and other dressing for the set.  When it is time to load the set into the theatre, it is trucked from the scene shop in pieces and assembled on stage in two or three days. The final dressing is finished and it is ready for actors.

Do you do just the designing or some of the actual building of the set as well?
At Caldwell, we have a scene shop staff that does most of the building. I spend at least half of the build time doing drawings but I do get to build several parts of each show and I usually do most of the scenic painting and finishing work.

	The set for Enchanted April at the Caldwell Theatre Company Photo: Sigvision

How much of what you design is indicated in the script, and how much is of your own imagination?
That can be very different from script to script. For example, an older more traditional play will have many definite needs. My design will be more about configuring for the stage and deciding on colors. A more contemporary script is often more open for interpretation.

What are some of the elements that you have to take into account when
designing a set?
Besides the “needs” that I have mentioned, I must always be aware of sightlines from the audience. I am always very concerned with making the set very easy for the actors to work on .The set is there to enhance their performances.

Where do you get the things with which you dress the set?
We have a large collection of furniture and props at Caldwell, but there are always more things to be found. Deborah Veres, our prop master, is very good at finding just what I have in my mind. She finds things on the Internet, thrift shops, other theatres and many, many other places.  We also build many furniture and dressing pieces.

What are the unique challenges involved in designing sets for contemporary plays and for period plays?
The biggest challenge with a lot of newer plays is that they are written more like screenplays. These scripts move back and forth between multiple locations and times very quickly, like movie scenes. The set must convey these changes without being literal.  I enjoy period pieces because of my love of history. It is always a challenge to create architectural details cheaply and with materials different from the original.

In designing sets, what is your main inspiration?
I guess I look at each set design as a piece of art with a finite life that is capable of giving pleasure and provoking thought. My goal is to create something new each time, even if it is only in some small way.

What is the biggest misconception about your job?
That everything is already in the back of the book and we just recreate it.

What production has offered you the most challenges?
Every show has its own set of new challenges, but the production of Take Me Out that we did a couple of summers ago had an interesting one. It required five working showers on stage. The water had to always be at the same warm temperature and a drain system had to carry away about 20 gallons of water.

What have been your favorite productions to design?
I don’t have any single favorite, but there are a few that stand out in my mind over the years. She Loves Me, and Foxfire at The Royal Palm Dinner Theater, and Papa, Mornings At Seven, The Laramie Project at Caldwell Theatre were all great projects.

	The set for Mornings at Seven at the Caldwell Theatre Company Photo: Sigvision

Have there ever been any major set malfunctions once the run of the production has started?
I have been pretty lucky for the most part with things working the way they were supposed to. There was an ongoing leak problem in Take Me Out.

What do you hope audiences notice about the sets you design?
The biggest compliment is if the set takes a back seat to the performances on stage. However, I always hope that the attention I place on detail is appreciated.

What’s the best thing about working in South Florida theatre?
I have been working in South Florida for thirty years and the theatre community has grown quite a lot, but it is still fairly tight knit. There is plenty of sharing of people, materials and ideas. Everyone has the same goal of creating the best theatre possible.  And of course, I like the weather too.

Current Production:
Steel Magnolias, through February 11 at the Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton.

Upcoming Productions:
The Lion In Winter opening February 18 at Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton.
For more information, visit CaldwellTheatre.com