Interview: Cliff Price, Orlando Theatrical Scenic Designer

As those of us who spend significant time in the theatre know, the last six months have been very difficult. With canceled productions, performers out of work, and audiences without the live entertainment that enlightens and enriches their lives, there has been much uncertainty, on top of all the concerns for our own health and well-being. As someone who used to be in the audience reviewing productions almost every week pre-pandemic, I have missed the regular cadence of seeing, and writing about theatre. So, while we wait for things to get back to normal (or a new normal), I wanted to take a moment to spotlight some of the local creative professionals here in Orlando who bring theatrical magic to life on stage. To start, I sat down with Cliff Price, the creative designer behind some of the beautiful and creative scenic designs that audiences have seen in theaters across Central Florida over the last twenty years. Cliff shared with me his creative process, his perspective on the importance of good design and some of his favorite past designs.

BWW: Can you start by telling us a little bit about how you got interested in the world of theatre?

Cliff Price: My brother dragged me into it, pretty much. I went to school for landscape architecture so I've got that design background, but I came down to Florida and started working for Disney and kind of put that to the side for a little while. I always planned to go back into it, but then I got sucked into the Disney magic and just made a career out of being a performer at Disney and then a stage manager. My brother, Clay, started a group called Encore and was planning to do BIG RIVER for their first production. He needed a set for it and he asked me to design it. I had never really designed a set for the theatre, but I agreed. The theatre was very small - it was a little theater in Town Square at the Magic Kingdom, basically a movie theatre with a little bit of a thrust, about 8 feet. I did that and had a great time and it just progressed over 10 years of doing shows with Encore. Then we moved into the Dr. Phillips Center where I actually got to build big sets, including my first really big piece, a 32 foot tall pyramid for AIDA. After that we did RAGTIME where I got to build a Model T out of foam and then was HAIRSPRAY which was the pivotal show that made me realize this is what I want to do. I got really great reviews and comments from patrons and that's when I started reaching out to local theaters in town. I think I have now worked with pretty much all of them except for a couple at this point.

Does your background in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design influence your theatrical designs?

I think so partly because with landscape architecture it's more three-dimensional so I think that's helped me translate the way I design onto the stage. On stage you're not just looking at a set, the cast members have to live in the space and dance around in the space so it needs to be more living and breathing. Things have to move around and it's more about manipulating the space. With any design background you get inspiration from everything so I think it's helped me more than I thought it was going to.

Have you ever had the chance to design a set that leaned more directly on that background?

I did ONCE ON THIS ISLAND with Theater West End and the director wanted a beach setting and a rain curtain and that was the closest I have come to designing a landscape. We brought in 2 tons of sand and a lot of water. So that show was a lot of fun.

You have been a performer as well - how do you think your experience on stage has informed your approach to scenic design?

Sometimes when I'm designing I think if I was performing on this set how is it going to work? So I put those lenses on and can think about whether something will work; whether something is a trip hazard or figure out how high to make steps and risers so it will be comfortable to a dancer running up and down. I take all of those little things into account - the width of a ramp or how big a wagon is or how something gets moved on and off. We've all seen those productions where a set piece is clunky and they are trying to awkwardly move it on or off. So I think about that when I am designing. I think it's definitely helped being a performer and knowing the limitations that you have and I'm sure performers appreciate that as well.

I am curious about your process. Walk me through what happens once you are tasked with a design.

If it's a show that I don't know I'll immediately try to get the script or the soundtrack and listen to it and get an overall feel for it. If it's something that I know, I'll pull from those memories and think about what parts of the set I liked. You don't want to copy anybody else's work but you can be inspired by it. A lot of it will depend on the direction the director wants to go. I have worked with some directors who want a complete departure from the original and then there are some some that want to do it as close to the original as possible because that's what people are expecting to see. But, even then, you have to put your own twist on it. So, I start with the music or the script and then I find inspiration in the most random places. For ELF: THE MUSICAL, which I am working on now, I've never seen the show but I have seen the movie and I know it's fun and colorful. I was trying to find the aesthetic that I wanted people to experience and then I randomly got a pop-up card from a friend with different layers of paper and that gave me the idea to play off that storybook feel.

I know it is hard to pick a favorite, but if you had to choose - what would you say would be your favorite scenic design you have created?

I have a few. There's a couple of different reasons that each one of them is a favorite but as far as overall design, finishing and detail, I would probably say my THE ADDAMS FAMILY set just because there was nothing that I had to cut and it got finished exactly how I wanted. The polish was there, the details were there because you often design something and put all these little details in there and those are the first things that get cut because the person in the back row isn't going to see that little button or that little piece of trim. That's probably my biggest fault as a designer - I probably put too much detail in there. Sometimes I overlook the fact that it's on stage and it doesn't have to be as detailed.

Is there a piece that you planned for a show that you were in love with but had to cut?

Yes. For THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE we had planned five total wagons that were New York skyscrapers. This was a very small theater with no-fly or wing space so pretty much everything that was on stage had to transform to something else or rotate around. So there were four that butted up against the wings, and at one point they were all supposed to come on stage and rotate around to form the doors of the apartments Millie and her friends were living in. The whole backside of them got cut because they ran out of time, so we staged it differently and made it work but I really wish we could have done it. The backside had the doors with the transom over and they had 1920s inspired wallpaper. That could've really transformed the space.

Do you have a dream show? One you haven't had a chance to design for but would love to?

PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, which I was supposed to do and it got canceled because of the pandemic. One day I will build that bus. I was in Toronto working for a cruise line and it was in previews there and I think I saw it four times and just fell in love with it. That one is definitely on the wish list.

Are there any other designers that you look up to?

In terms of other theatrical designers, I would have to say Derek McLane who did MOULIN ROUGE. Other than that, I would say that Frank Lloyd Wright is my all-time favorite designer. I actually got to use his style on HOW TO SUCCEED... The entire set was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and that was really cool - lots of repetition and angles and lines in the sky. The carpenter looked at me like I was crazy and said it was too time-consuming to build but we figured out a way to simplify it and made it work.

Do you have any designs in your back pocket ready for someone to ask?

Yes. I have a little sketchbook at home that I pull out if I get a random idea of something that would be cool one day. I have a couple of notebooks with random sketches in it, actually. I think most designers do that. You never know when you might be able to use something.

You have designed for a wide variety of theatres and, while I am sure a big budget is great, there is something to say for simplicity, is there not?

It definitely affects the design. Sometimes it's fun to design with no budget. When we did CABARET I think we had $200. The set was literally made out of pieces of foam, tinfoil, gold spray paint and some patio string lights that we had and that was it, but the effect was amazing. Limited resources can stretch your design-mind but then again having a big budget where you can do whatever you want to, that's great too. I'd rather either have no budget or a big budget. The in-between is the frustrating part where you design something great but then you can't make it come alive.

Do you have a go to element? Something you like to use in multiple designs?

I love architectural detail so anytime that I can put molding on a wall, a door, a window or a staircase, I do. A lot of that gets lost from the audience, but I know it is there and to me it completes the picture. I love those little pieces. Like for THE ADDAMS FAMILY, the staircase is a big part of the show, but right in the rise of the stair tread I put these little pieces of filigree trim. Nobody probably even noticed that they were there but, to me, it's those little details that make it and make it pop. I also love those little hidden Easter eggs. Sometimes they're just for the cast to see or just for the director. When I do stuff with Encore I always put our Encore E somewhere, sometimes it is in multiple places. It makes it fun for me. It's a little special touch. The cast has fun with it. It's like my own little Hidden Mickeys.

Do you ever keep elements from your designs?

The biggest thing that I have is the back of the tomb for AIDA. It's in my garage because it won't fit in the house. I kept it because the iconic eye from the show, I put the Encore E inside the eye pupil. I have small pieces here and there, but that is the largest thing I have kept. The one thing I wanted to keep that I couldn't was the Model T that I made for RAGTIME. It was too big to put anywhere. Luckily there are a couple local high schools that have some of the pieces I have built. There's one down the street that has used the piano I made for RAGTIME five or six times for different productions. It's good to see those pieces live on somewhere else.

You have been here in the Orlando area for 22 years - what can you tell a newcomer (like myself) about the performing arts community here and the opportunity to see good theatre?

There's a lot of theaters here and, luckily, because of Disney and Universal and the theme parks we have some incredible talent and they work at a lot of these theatres. There's The Orlando Rep, Orlando Shakes, Mad Cow, Osceola Arts, Theatre West End, Theatre South, Encore; there's so many. St. Luke's United Methodist Church has one of the best theater programs, it's unreal. I just started working with them. I did STEEL MAGNOLIAS there. That brought me into the world of doing in-the-round, more immersive theatre. You were literally in Truvy's beauty shop. We also have the touring shows that will eventually come back, at Dr. Phillips Center or the Bob Carr Theatre.

Does your eye for design influence other parts of your life?
Yeah. I love redoing the house every three or four years, which is a costly hobby. But even at work for Disney, since my leaders know my background and passions, I have been able to redesign a lot of our backstage break spaces, and I have friends who ask for my help with their homes. I get to do some fun stuff outside designing for theatre.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can tell us about?

Yes. My next show is ELF: THE MUSICAL with the Henegar which opens the end of November. I have three more shows at the Henegar throughout their season, LEGALLY BLONDE in Titusville next spring, then if Encore does anything I will be doing that too. Hopefully FREAKY FRIDAY will open eventually at the Orlando Rep. We had the set installed back in March, but because of COVID we had to take it down. I hate that we didn't get to do it. We created this tornado of truss work that had all these bits and pieces of thoughts all spun up into it. I also have some possible work with St. Lukes and Theatre West End as well. Staying busy!

Is there anything else you would like our readers to know, or any closing thoughts?

I would say to find design in everything around you because, to me, that's what people relate to. Yes, some shows transport you away from reality but at some point, there needs to be something that grounds you to it, whatever that may be. My work has become more of a passion that I ever thought it would have. I am very lucky that I get to do what I do and that people support me. If it makes you happy, follow your dream.

---------------------------------------

To check out more of Cliff's work, visit his website - www.cliffpricedesign.com. And to see his theatrical designs up close and in person, you can visit these theaters for one of their upcoming performances:

ELF: THE MUSICAL - The Henegar Center - November 27 - December 20, 2020
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND - The Henegar Center - Spring 2021
THE FULL MONTY - The Henegar Center - May 7 - 23, 2021
LEGALLY BLONDE - Titusville Playhouse - May 4 - June 6, 2021

All photos courtesy of Cliff Price

To post a comment, you must register and login.