Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1413503
D E A R E VA N H A N S E N | P E R S P E C T I V E 3 9 team began the erulean feat of figuring out how our prodution ould o-eist with the small student population. (Hint: loads of caution tape and masked security guards.) Preproduction became exponentially more hallenging as the rew was regularly short- staed. ot beause smaller shows ant typially aord multiple rt iretors but beause the daily testing inevitably ensnared incoming crew members. The phrase "out of an abundance of caution" was often used when those of us were deemed potential close contacts. Whether it was beause the tests werent fully reliable yet or simply because we were in a region where restaurants were still packed and masks were taboo who new. t one point our entire art oe of a dozen people was down to just researcher Charlie and Graphic Artist Paul Markovich. After only missing a few days of shooting in my entire career, I was sidelined for two solid weeks after being tapped as a possible close contact. I became adept at watching the camera monitors remotely on QTAKE and peppering the on-set dressers with texts that asked for picture frames to be straightened and vases to be rotated. give the shows tremendous set deoration department, led by Lance Totten, so much credit for remaining endlessly resourceful and determined to bring together authentic sets. Prop house rentals were o-limits due to , and online shopping became just about the only safe way to soure set dressing. et with largely brand- new set dressing they were able to pull o spaes that felt very lived-in and thoughtfully nuaned. The same resourcefulness and drive were found in the irreplaceable props department, led by the ray of sunshine that is Karen Felix. Necessity truly is the mother of invention, and the crew forged many new paths on Dear Evan Hansen. irtual souting via photography beame a lifesaver and were still grateful to the many homeowners who sent in iPhone video tours of their houses. (Often followed by the request to reshoot them in landscape mode vs. portrait mode!) Concept art, typically a tool used only on larger shows was invaluable for definitively showing the group what our sets would eventually beome. oie-ditation for sending emails and texts while driving was irreplaceable. A year later, and the industry is still adapting. On my current show headsets are simply unbeatable for doing virtual walthroughs of set builds when were all spread across the globe. I felt so fortunate to have had such a great creative partner in cinematographer Brandon Trost. We often found ourselves in the same boat, trying to review material together while having little ability to actually be in close proximity of one another. In trying to nail down our stage backings, we had print samples sent from LA. It was so early on in our understanding of the virus—and I still E. & F. HANSEN HOME FIRST FLOOR. SET PHOTOS. E F