Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1241865
A M E R I C A N S O U L | P E R S P E C T I V E 5 7 of the music and its elite trendsetters. It was really important visually to create a place one could believe would exist during this time period, whereas NY had Studio 54, LA had Guy's and Dolls, a transplanted club from the south through hicago. isually, I wanted to pull from some of the iconic clubs and restaurants erino's, iro's of os Angeles' past with visual cues from well-known music venues enox ounge, otton lub of ew ork's and hicago's past. I also wanted to pay homage to Paul Williams, a black architect that created some memorable and iconic Los Angeles buildings (LAX Theme restaurant, everly ills otel, ak's th Ave. Ma Mabel's: Ma Mabel's was the community patriarch that served up some of the best soul food west of the Mississippi. The design's origins involved merging two institutions (one in Atlanta, the other in Los Angeles) to create a believable world on stage that would exist during this time period. To help sell the concept, layers both real and artificial were created on stage. Greens, parked cars, people entering and exiting, walking past on sidewalks, etc. The Clubs (Dugan's, Black Bird, Pete's Place) : ome of the most difficult sets to conceptualie for a first-season series and still manage a descent look are swing sets. Swing sets are especially difficult when limited by time and available space. My challenge on this series was creating three clubs lack ird, Dugan's, Pete's Place) within a single space, essentially a box. To pull off this challenge, I needed the help of various departments (construction, set decoration. grip and electric) to coordinate the logistics within a tight space and on a tight schedule. ecause the clubs were shooting back to back, I had to conceptualie a uniue design feature for each club. F. GUY'S AND DOLLS. ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS PRINGLE. G. GUY'S AND DOLLS. IN PROGRESS. H. & I. SOUL TRAIN CLUB. SET PHOTOS. F G H I