Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500164
9 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 3 and have conversations with at least five other designers doing shows there. Funny story— Suzan and I were debating what to do about our basketball floor in the gym. I mentioned it to Rich Toyon, who is the designer on Winning Time, as they have lots of basketball scenes. We couldn't afford to do our floor the way Rich does his in season two, but he connected me with Jack Taylor who was designing a show about the 1950s Knicks, and Jack came by our office with no less than three samples of flooring and a bunch of research. This is a type of camaraderie that too often is missing in this business. For season three, we have a real basketball floor, with the help of Rich's contact Jack. Abbott Characters Outside of Work When I started on the show, I asked about seeing our characters outside of the workplace. It's something I've learned over the years to anticipate. I was told we would never see the characters' lives outside of the school as it's a workplace comedy with a documentary crew. Season one was completely at their workplace, but season two changed all of that. Season two visits Janine's apartment and neighborhood to show her breakup with her longtime boyfriend. Janine was put in a basement apartment on the New York street in the building where Annie was filmed. The crew then set about to build her interior apartment set near the show's backlot and took over a space that had been the ER hospital entrance. It was small but made us design a set that was equally small and appropriate for what a schoolteacher could afford. Sometimes space restrictions lead to good realistic choices, and DP Mike Pepin and gaffer Tom Pugh embraced the challenge as well. The series also features Melissa's apartment in season two. We debated building this on stage, but location manager David Lyons found a location in Eagle Rock with an interior that looked exactly like a Philadelphia row house. Even though we didn't do any construction on this location, I'm very proud of how it turned out. Cherie Ledwith really had a fun time showing Melissa's personality in her choices of dressing. The Classroom Lessons The lessons on the chalkboards deserve their own chapter. Each teacher has their own way of communicating a lesson. When breaking down a script, the art team breaks down the possible classroom lessons at the same time. Sometimes the writers have ideas and sometimes they leave it open. Either way, every detail is considered. We make sure that the boards in every room for every scene communicate clearly not only the lesson at hand, but the season we are in. Each teacher has a corresponding set dresser that is in charge of the specific look of their handwriting. The props team, led by Skip Torvinen, makes sure the kids are working off of the same lessons we have on the boards. The Best Ideas/It Takes a Village I wouldn't be a designer if I didn't have good ideas, but this business is truly a collaborative business. Therefore, I try to run the Art Department as one part training for the younger generation and one part an immersive set of references I can bring people to for ideas. A. CORNER DELI. SET PHOTO BY LOUIS ESCOBAR. B. CORNER DELI. RENDERED MODEL VIEW DONE IN VECTORWORKS AND TWINMOTION BY TOM WAGMAN. C. SCHOOL ENTRANCE. SET PHOTO. D. SCHOOL ENTRANCE. RENDERED MODEL VIEW DONE IN VECTORWORKS AND TWINMOTION BY TOM WAGMAN. A B