Tag: Multi-Cam

ADVICE, Interview, People

Award Winning Production Designer: Glenda Rovello

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Her name rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? It’s playful, sophisticated, and warm.  I imagine someone with that name roaming the streets of Italy, dressed like Audrey Hepburn.  Or maybe that’s just my yearning…  to roam.

But I digress.

Glenda has received THREE Emmy’s and TWO Art Director’s Guild Awards for Excellence in Production Design.  You read that correctly… Her work on WILL & GRACE speaks volumes of her talent.  We met on a short lived CBS show and because of our shared love of wallpaper and all things home design related, I had a secret crush on her talent right out of the gate.

A production designer sets a style, a mood, and tone of the world(s) we get swept up into.  They help with a writer and director’s vision, which in turn helps actors with a sense of place and who they might be or become in any particular space; it allows them to create memories… a history or backstory.  A great designer has a knowledge of history and is up on their pop culture references.  Their skill set(s) vary, but most have a solid foundation and knowledge when it comes to architecture, art, design, lighting, and various types of materials (Glenda loves sculptures).

They have a sense of style… just like Glenda:

RS: Sell me you as a production designer (teasing me with a bit of fun backstory from your life) in a logline. Go!

GR: When people say they were wired to do what they do… that is a true description of me.  My earliest memories of playing with my neighbors was creating the places for make-believe.  With Karla it was building the corrals for her collection of plastic horses, or making a jungle for Mario’s GI JOES, crafting a cigar box into an upright piano for my Barbies.  What I did when I was 7 years old is not much different than what I do now.

RS: What crew members report directly to you?

GR: Crew members who report to me????  Not so sure of that. People I work with are many.  The Art Director, Construction Coordinator, Set Decorator.  Others who I speak to CONSTANTLY are the paint foreman and prop maker foreman.  I often have conversations with the prop master.

RS: Do you have a “management style”?

GR: I hope that the style could be described as a collaboration on creating the richest sets possible in terms of the architecture and the artifacts (set dressing) that support the story.

RS: Where are you when you get the most inspired?

GR: My state of mind is in a “quiet place.”  I can be in a busy room of people, it isn’t hard for me to focus.

RS: Who is your favorite interior designer? Why?

GR: Axel Vervoordt.  His work is quiet, his work is powerful, minimalist, and extraordinary!

RS: Who is your favorite architect?

GR: My husband, Scott Prentice!  His homes are like a custom tailored suit for the inhabitants.  Our homes have always been such a wonderful place to come home to.

RS: What’s a piece of advice you got early on that you think would benefit upcoming production designers?

GR: Always question your 1st assumption!  Also, there is always more than one solution to any design question.

Always question your 1st assumption!  Also, there is always more than one solution to any design question.

RS: What kind of traits are important to have in your job?

GR: Read carefully, listen with intent.

RS: What’s a skill set you had to improvise early on… that you mastered later?

GR: Being heard.

RS: Are you an introvert or extrovert?

GR: Naturally, I’m probably more of an introvert… however I must communicate all day with many collaborators; the crafts people, director and the writers of course.

RS: Is there something specific in your own home that you love design-wise?  Why?

GR: A vintage merchant’s Tansu.  I love the patina, the proportion, and the lovely items it holds.

RS: Our homes tell a story.  What’s the central theme to yours?

GR: Our home is my family’s history.  It is cozy and warm, yet very modern.

RS: You’re a fan of wallpaper.  How many rooms in your own home have wallpaper?

GR: We have a custom mural of Mount Rushmore… colorized in a deep indigo hue.  We also have a large wall covered in a paper designed by Fornasetti.

RS: What’s your favorite texture?

GR: Natural.

RS: Do you have a color scheme that’s your favorite? 

GR: I truly do not have a favorite color scheme.  I do have a favorite color and it is green.  I love green so much that it is one of my son’s middle name.  My other son’s middle name is Calder, after the artist.

RS: What was the most challenging set to design and why?

GR: Technically it was a tank for a porpoise (animatronic).  We had to deal with the building department because of the size of the tank and the weight of water on the stage floor.

RS: What’s your least favorite type of space to design?  Your favorite?

GR: Least favorite sets would be when something must look generic.  Favorite sets are the highly idiosyncratic… bring on the escape rooms, historical tenements, or caves (love working with sculptors).

On Favorite Set(s) to design:

Highly idiosyncratic… bring on the escape rooms, historical tenements or caves.

RS: What’s a show — past and present — you wish you’d been able to design?

GR: Any Wes Anderson movie.  They are always a visual hammer.

RS: Which character on Will & Grace do you relate to the most?

GR: Style wise it would be Will Truman, classic simple choices that underlines quality.

RS: Are you a procrastinator or are you a Type A kind of person?

GR: I am type A when it comes to work.  The sooner I do my work then others have more time to do theirs, which make the sets better.

RS: What’s a mistake you’ve made that you only needed to make once to learn from?

GR: Not checking the spelling on signs before printing.

RS: What’s something that took you a while to master in the job?

GR: Presentations on ZOOM.

RS: Describe your perfect hotel room when on vacation.

GR: The location would weigh in heavily.  General qualities would be Beauty (not necessarily fancy); I tend to love local crafts.  Real materials. Lighting, air, and of course the view.

RS: Which do you prefer:  A view of the mountains or the ocean?

GR: Like asking which of your children is your favorite.

RS: Has your gut ever deceived you?

GR: No.  I’m lucky.

RS: What is one thing about you that would surprise people?

GR: I love gardens.  People have certain expectations of my home’ interiors, but are often surprised by the garden, surprised in a good way.

RS: First famous person crush?

GR: Not sure if “crush” is how I would describe, but easy to call out.  Jimmy Burrows!!!!  I was initially so cowed to work for him, Jimmy is very respectful and kind to EVERYONE on stage.  A complete joy to know him.

On getting work done quickly:

A motto that stuck with me from my early days as an assistant art director:

“DONE IS GOOD.”

RS: What’s a question you wish I’d asked you? 

GR: If you were not a production designer what would be your dream profession ?  (I truly can’t imagine doing anything else in terms of work!)

There you have it.  The glamorous Glenda.

Some of Glenda’s favorites: 

— Interior Designer:  Axel Vervoordt: https://www.axel-vervoordt.com/

— Architect:  https://scottprenticearchitects.com/

— Tansu (箪笥):  Is the traditional mobile storage cabinetry indigenous to Japan. Tansu was first recorded in the Genroku era of the Edo period (1688–1704).

For more q&a’s, go to: www.rebecca-stay.com/blog

Bio: 

Glenda Rovello has had a life long interest in visual storytelling. An attention to detail, visual sophistication, and a love for telling the story are constants in her work. She is passionate about design and building and the representation of how things work together.

With a graduate degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin, Glenda worked extensively in the United States for noted architects Robert Venturi, Charles Moore, and Barton Myers before entering work in entertainment. Experience in a wide range of film and television projects ranging from features to variety, talk, awards, and multi-camera shows has given Glenda far-reaching experience that she regularly draws upon. With numerous award nominations, Glenda has received three Emmy’s and two Art Director’s Guild Awards for Excellence in Production Design.

 

 

ADVICE, Interview, People

The Casting Call: A One On One With Casting Director, Lisa Miller Katz

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Pilot season is not for the faint of heart and if you’re a casting director, you’re right smack in the middle of the chaos. The pressure to deliver the best of the best in the midst of everyone battling for the same high caliber talent? Don’t get me started. You may have an idea as to what actors you have in mind for the role(s) in your show, but you have to be able to roll (pun intended) with the punches. Rarely do you get your first choice, sometimes not even your fourth, but take comfort in knowing that more times than not, you get who was meant for the part.

For as long as Lisa has been doing this job, you’d think she’d be cynical. Some CD’s have a reputation for turning a tad bitter, but not Lisa. She’s the opposite. She’s not only warm, calm, patient and professional, but she also has a genuine enthusiasm and passion for what she does.

Writers who are lucky enough to see their shows move forward have a grace period before the first table read — to see what’s working and what isn’t — just by going through the casting process. When actors come in to audition you’re hearing the scenes come to life. It’s helpful to hear what jokes are landing (or more importantly, what’s not landing). Are the emotional stakes present? Is there subtext in the scene? Are the character’s motivations clear? Lots of food for thought…

RS: How have you changed as a casting director from when you first began? What’s easier and what’s more difficult?  

LMK: The business has changed & evolved so many times since I started! Casting during Covid is easier because you can see more people than I ever could if we were able to have in-person auditions. A normal pre-read session day for me would cap out at probably 40, 50, 60 actors, but now we can ask more actors to self-tape, which allows us to consider a wider talent pool to put forth. Taping all pre-reads and producer sessions has helped streamline the casting process from top to bottom. Also, we can easily access prior auditions when we’re considering actors for other roles beyond what they initially read for, which is so rewarding to be able to remind a producer about someone who maybe wasn’t right for something they initially read for, but now considers them for this new role. Those are the aspects where the technology informs and impacts our job on a daily basis.

During Covid we’ve only been able to watch table reads/run thru’s via Zoom – the collective experience, with the entire cast & crew on the set, that’s what we’re missing terribly. I do miss being in the room and working with actors in person, to help with direction; give an actor multiple takes to find collectively our favorite take on the scene. I hope we’re back to that norm soon, it’s what I miss the most.

RS: When deciding on taking a casting job, what are you looking for in a script, in a project? 

LMK: As someone who primarily casts TV comedy, I really hope that the premise feels fresh, and that I find myself laughing out loud several times within the first ten pages or so. If there aren’t funny moments where I know talented actors can make us laugh during auditions, then I know that the casting process will become more challenging. If comedy for the character exists on the page initially, it’s then super fun to watch dozens of actors land the jokes; then the process becomes about finding the most interesting, fresh, unlikely, surprising talent.

If there’s not jokes for actors to land, that audition process becomes much more difficult

If there’s not jokes for actors to land, that audition process becomes much more difficult, and therefore much less fun for everyone involved. It’s also critical to know where this pilot is heading, especially if it’s for broadcast TV. Is it on brand with other similar shows or is there a time slot that seems to be a good match for the project? You want to know you’re working on a project that threads the needle in the right way.

RS: Before you begin every job, do you start with a strategy?

LMK: Yes: work with wonderful people who will be fun to sit with on a shitty couch for ten weeks looking for the funniest people we can find. Strategy isn’t always something that you can control during pilot season. Often it’s more triage than anything else. I do love the moment where the 100th actor comes through the door, (who comes in to read sides we all now know by heart), and reads a line in the freshest, funniest of ways – that’s gold. When that actor, within that moment, teaches me how the joke should have been read all along? That’s just my favorite moment ever.

RS: When casting, what is your definition of thinking outside of the box? 

LMK: I think it’s about surprise. A writer often writes a description of the character, but often it’s about what more can be learned when we’re chatting about the role. I like to ask who the writer had in mind when writing the script – their prototype – because it’s often a good starting point and can help open up the process for both of us. When I cast the pilot of EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, Phil Rosenthal had written the Robert character to be modeled on Ray Romano’s real life brother, who was shy and on the shorter side, possibly rounder… and so we started the process heading in this direction, until I thought about Brad Garrett. I knew he wasn’t what Phil had in mind, but I knew Brad would be super funny, and happily he was.

Think outside of the box

That’s got to be the best example of outside the box really succeeding and also informing who that character was for nine seasons.

RS: What do the best crafted sides include? What do they need to entail? 

(Side Note: If you don’t know what “sides” are, they are scenes pulled from the script in order to use during auditions — the various roles — for the pilot and in series)

LMK: Together the writer and I can whittle down which scenes will make the strongest audition scenes. You want to be able to understand the character, learn about who they are within the story, and laugh while doing it. Hopefully, those pages exist within the script, so they’re easily pulled for actors to use. Scenes that are written only for audition purposes, which don’t come from the existing script, can sometimes feel less organic and natural in auditions. Everyone who is working on this pilot knows the script top to bottom, so a new scene (contextually) can be an added challenge.

RS: Dialogue notes are the hardest to give to a writer. Have you ever had to tell EP’s or Showrunners that the dialogue isn’t working? If so, how do you let them know?  

LMK: On my end it’s about comedy not hitting where it needs to. I’m happy to mention this if needed, but usually it’s evident to everyone in the room who is sitting through the same auditions together. If we’ve had several days sitting through casting sessions that were laugh free, it’s likely the other producers on the show will be the person to share this with the writer. And honestly, the writer probably knows this as well. It’s a group process, so there are lots of hands together stirring the same pot, and with the same goal.

RS: What does specificity look like for you?

LMK: Actors who bring their own unique qualities to the role. Someone who looks like a real person. Someone who is interesting and makes us all lean in and want to learn more about them. I love to open my door and see a waiting room filled with wonderfully varied actors. They’re going to all read the same scene – but I come away with loving a handful of auditions that surprised us. They found comedy where we didn’t think it existed before or showed us an “aha!” moment that was a lovely, unexpected button to the scene. Those are the moments of specificity that still give me chills.

Worth Repeating: Specificity IS key

RS: We tell writers to listen to their gut. Has yours ever betrayed you?

LMK: Sure. I’ve read a few pilot scripts that didn’t feel like the right choice or project for me at the time, that went on to be big hits. It’s all subjective, and you need to connect with the project as well as the writer and producers… on every level. What can you do, other than hope you’re in it for the long game. But you also have to listen to your gut for many other reasons as well, whether for good or for bad.

RS: Ok. Last question. What is your proudest moment as a Casting Director?

LMK: The pilot of Everybody Loves Raymond was 25 years ago at this point, and that show still makes me laugh like it did then. Same with King of Queens, which was now 23 years ago. The fact that these shows still air and so many people know and love them to this day is very rewarding. And I’ll always stop flipping when I run into Easy A. It’s wonderful that these projects remain so beloved by audiences and that makes me the happiest.

and there you have it. Sage words from the lovely Lisa Miller Katz.

If you enjoyed this post, you might like: https://rebecca-stay.com/the-importance-of-voice-from-writer-aadip-desais-perspective

LISA MILLER KATZ CREDITS:

TV: THE NEIGHBORHOOD, CAROL’S SECOND ACT, DUNCANVILLE, 24: LEGACY,
EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, KING OF QUEENS, DON’T TRUST THE B**** IN APT. 23, THE LOOP

FILMS: EASY A, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, FIRED UP