Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512164
punchlines throughout the sketch. Our talented lighting department worked alongside our set decoration team to make the set glow. It truly was a collaboration across all departments to pull this set together, and it was great to see it come alive with the choreography and original song. Some of the sets we enjoy working on the most are those that allow us to transform an existing space into something completely different. Finding a location for "Shit Talk," in which a women's restroom lounge doubles as a talk-show set, proved to be one of the more challenging locations to track down. Even though the location manager Tom Potier found some great options, none of them were quite large enough for the blocking or the right layout for our desired eyelines. While scouting sets at a stage, we came across a rotunda leading to a courtroom set we were already using for "Courtroom Kiki Part 3." We saw this space had great potential. The rotunda had four archways leading into hallways, and one of the halls had a great window wall where pedestal sinks could be dressed in to cheat as our restroom. We'd plug another hall opening with a new flat to make it the backdrop for our talk-show set. The look of the space could transform in an instant with a lighting cue. Playing with the existing dark woods, marbled flooring and archways, we designed the space to be upscale and glamorous, introducing emerald greens, gold finishes, Art Deco wallpaper, and an arched window built into our wall plug, which our DP was excited to use as the motivation for his lighting shift. The set decoration team brought in sultry velvet textures, a deep mauve circular rug, an elegant curved sofa and background details that kept the space playful. It was a delight to see how all of this came together. Sets like these give us a lot of opportunity to creatively collaborate and achieve some fun transformations. For "Gladys and the Knights of the Round Table," we watched a lot of Monty Python and the Holy Grail for its absurdist take on medieval times, as well as The Favourite for key lighting inspiration. We collaborated with Lizzie to incorporate sumptuous jewel-toned velvet tapestries to break up the hard textures at our location, and ornate chairs to soften the blockiness of the medieval-style stone architecture. Our favorite detail has to be the title card, with its intricate details woven into an ornate tapestry—complete with dragons—hanging off a central iron gate. In all the seasons, the title cards D. "SHIT TALK." DIRECTOR'S PLAN. A REPURPOSED HALLWAY SET BECAME AN ENCLOSED POWDER ROOM WITH THE ADDITION OF A WINDOW PLUG. A LIGHTING CUE THEN FURTHER SHIFTED THIS SET FROM A LADIES' ROOM TO A GOSSIPY TALK SHOW, ALL IN-CAMERA. E. "SHIT TALK." ARCH RENDERING. F. "SHIT TALK." SET PHOTO. G. "DIDN'T FIGURES." SET PHOTO. D E F G