Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/765720
Gary Frutkoff, Production Designer Ray Pumilia, Art Director Jessica Alejandra Ochoa, Jessica Stumpf, Set Designers Cindy Slagter, Selina van den Brink, Set Decorators decided to build the interior on stage, which ended up being the St. Joseph Community Center in LaPlace, LA. The final choice was a typical small plantation home of Creole design. Creole design typically includes a wide entry foyer with four rooms that are situated in the corners. Historically, bathrooms and kitchens were separate structures, away from the house. Bathrooms were usually outhouses when these homes were built, and kitchens were kept separate to limit fire damage, as the wood- burning stoves would often cause fires. Typically, the kitchen and bathroom were later incorporated into back porches of the Creole houses. As I designed the stage set, I remained true to the typical Creole floor plan, but did design the bathroom to be more centrally located due to script demands. Modeled after Violet's personality, Ava thought her palette would have a Caribbean influence. Set decoration would follow suit with a modern, off-the-shelf quality. The final main set was Nova's house. There would not be enough filming in Nova's to merit a constructed set, so we found a house in the Ninth Ward, one that had been rebuilt post Katrina. Ava really loved the house because across the street was a remnant of Katrina's wrath: a bombed-out place that had barely been touched since the hurricane. It's always challenging to depict a character that is involved with alternative cultures. Nova is involved with growing marijuana and is versed in the ways of voodoo and other forms of magic, which date back to Haitian and West Indies cultures. It's challenging to portray characters like Nova, ones that lean to alternative lifestyles because it's difficult to find a balance that satisfies the character, but doesn't reach too far or too little. There were two decorators, Cindy Slagter and Selina van den Brink, during the course of the show. Cindy did the standing sets, including Nova's. She and her team attained a great portrayal that we were all happy with. ADG Right, top to bottom: Nova's house is a location in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, typical of the houses that were built after Katrina's devastation. Nova's altar in her house where she keeps the heritage of the land's culture alive, along with a detail of the altar.