How does the set of I and You reflect the lives of Caroline and Anthony?
First of all, the set is a bit of a chaotic mess. To the audience, Caroline is a typical teenager and therefore lives in a world of her own sense of "organization". In the design sense, this room is also a metaphor for Caroline's state of mind. The walls are a collection of her life as seen from her bedroom—all the places she wants to travel, people she wants to meet, and the every minutia of the world she wants to explore.

What is your favorite piece of the I and You set, and why?
Of course, my favorite is the walls. I have an idea where it's going to go, but at this moment it will evolve into its own being. I will let it lead me to find Caroline and the universe of her imagination. When you see it, you'll understand.

Did any aspect of the set change from your original plans?
No.

What questions did you ask yourself early on when designing a set?
This really can't be answered because I designed the show backwards from the end. Until you experience the final moments of this production, you really don't know the whats and whys. I can't reveal that to the audience. But again, you'll understand once you've had this impactful experience.

Why do you believe theatre is important?
Theatre is the study of human nature. Why do we do what we do and why it makes a difference. Theatre gives us all relatable scenarios and asks us to get involved and expose our humanness by admitting our character differences, our flaws, and our fears. Asking why theatre and the arts in general are important is better asked "why is air important". If I am to live, I must breathe. Ergo oxygen is important. If I am human, I must express my existence with others. Therefore, art is fundamentally 100% human expression. Theatre is art. Theatre is life. Theatre is like oxygen for us humanity.

How does the set of Dancing Lessons reflect the lives of Ever and Senga?
This set is largely Senga’s world, which Ever inelegantly trips his way into (you can see a bit of his personality in the standing desk he uses at the periphery, though; Ever is definitely the sort of fellow who would take to heart to the health benefits of furniture). Senga's apartment, a standard Manhattan single bedroom, illustrates the layers of her life—it has morphed from a place in which she barely takes time to sleep, into a cocoon of sorts: a filthy den where she can lick her wounds and wallow in the misery of limbo.
 
What is your favorite piece of the Dancing Lessons set, and why?
I adored getting to plunk a tiny kitchen right into the living room. It’s very Manhattan, and wonderfully unusual to see next to a couch.
 
Did any aspect of the set change from your original plans?
For a long while we had a bed lofted above the kitchen to make the apartment feel that much more cramped, but ultimately cut it because of the challengingly low ceiling in FlynnSpace.
 
What questions did you ask yourself early on when designing a set?
I explored two enormous questions:
1. How can we translate Senga into the material world of her apartment? The script holds a lot of answers, but we also, as a group, rooted around into the unspoken depths of her character for answers.
2. How can we situate the set within FlynnSpace to achieve everything we need for staging? Sight lines and poles are always a problem, but we also needed a lot of wall space for doors and windows and the kitchen. None of the standard audience configurations could achieve good sight lines, good blocking, and enough wall space for us.
 
Why do you believe theatre is important?
Theatre brings us together as a community of humans. It inspires us to explore topics and emotions bigger than just ourselves and to experience a slice of the divine. Together we laugh and cry and marvel, not in the isolation of our living rooms, but seated among friends and strangers, both. Sharing an experience and a story allows us to better understand and empathize with each other.

How does the set reflect the lives of the Ogden-Porter family?
In a play like this, it is important not to limit how the audience perceives the characters. Gregory Ramos, the director, and I wanted the audience to look at the space, art work, photographs and books as a part of this family's life as a group not individuals. Where have they been? What is their taste/style? The style is very eclectic and that is deliberate. We wanted to show how their individual personalities have melded to become their statement family.

Did any aspect of the set change from your original plans?
Many things shifted in the process but the final product is very close to my original idea after speaking with the director.

What is your favorite piece of the Mothers and Sons set, and why?
That's a tough one. I don't think I have a favorite piece because it's how it all works together and how it developed over time. The painting over the fireplace is on loan from a gallery in Middlebury and the large poster in the hall is from my husband's office. The chairs and ottoman were purchased but the sofa is from the theatre department. It's not how anything in particular affects the audience, it's how the combination of colors, textures and scale speaks to the characters.

What questions did you ask yourself early on when designing a set?
Because I lived in New York City for about 10 years, I had a strong idea of how this room might work. The biggest question we all had to ask ourselves was where are the windows. The windows had to overlook Central Park but where did it make the most sense for Bud when he talks about Spiderman. When you put a window in a room it impacts the entire use of the space. It's like putting a sofa or bed in a room. Once that happens, it impacts where everything else will go.

How do you know at the end if the design is successful?
When the actors feel as though the space gives their characters "a home" then we have a successful design. The set is as much a character of the show as the actors with lines. The set must ease the audience into the play, compliment the playwright's intent and allow the actors to move freely and with comfort. Like their character, the actor must own the space they are working in. For characters like Katharine, it needs to make a statement not to her liking.