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The Gene Pool: Designing the Set

The Gene Pool Set, Annex Theatre, Capitol Hill, Seattle, Photo by Michael Brunk / nwlens.com
The Gene Pool Set, Click To Enlarge
One of the biggest challenges facing “The Gene Pool” was the set. It had to provide the comfort of a home, allow for the outdoor/motorcycle sequences, and be easy to build as we don’t have a shop to build in advance. Above all, I wanted it to be theatrical.

I turned to Gavin Derek, a mutual friend of Christi’s and mine. We met back in DC, in the days of Consenting Adults (their theatre company) and my introduction to fringe theatre. The space they used was relatively similar to Annex Theatre, and they always did the best with the space. Gavin is also the only person I know who had seen the original run of the play.

We met for lunch, and his concept was exactly what I was looking for: simple, clean, easy to build, and theatrical. He scribbled it on a piece of paper: sunken living room, simple set pieces, all black, a scrim to cover the higher platforms that were to become the motorcycle.

Now was my turn to translate our conversation into something I could plan with. I had heard of Google SketchUp at my day job, and figured that would be the easiest way to figure it out. I did a couple of the tutorials, downloaded the program, and in a few hours I had a 3D model of the set. That allowed me to send an inventory to the theatre, who in turn told me what they actually had.

Set Design SketchUp Render

Having the 3D rendering proved very helpful during rehearsals, knowing quite accurately where things would be allowed for clear blocking with little guessing. A couple of things also became apparent. The set could not be as symbolic as we had originally planned. We needed a couch, we needed more furniture, and we would run into line-of-sight issues with the motorcycle platforms. Back to SketchUp for revisions.

With the new graphic in hand, I recruited my friend Perry Fulfs to help with building the set. We figured out what was needed hardware-wise, and got the set built pretty quickly. The flats were painted a rose color, which made the set look nice and warm. Everyone liked the original color, and I was quite reluctant to paint it black. Fully trusting Gavin’s design, I painted the walls and was astonished at the difference it made. The set pieces that need to pop do, and the outdoor/motorcycle sequences work extremely well.

Set Design SketchUp Render
This was my first time being this involved in the design and construction of a set, and I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed it. Between Gavin’s vision, using technology to visualize it, and Perry’s lead building, it was quite fun.

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Culturemob says “The Gene Pool” is more than all right

"The Gene Pool" at Annex Theatre, Capitol Hill, Seattle

Mike Showalter of CultureMob has some things to say after the opening night of The Gene Pool. I like how he addresses the elephant in the room:

Do you think the basic outline sounds a bit like last year’s hit movie, “The Kids are All Right?” Let’s be honest: if you’ve seen the movie you won’t be able to help yourself thinking that way once the play starts, which makes the opening few minutes a bit awkward as you try to match up what you’re seeing on stage to what you saw in the movie. It’s an unfair comparison, because in spite of the similarities the stories and characters are different. Just stop comparing, and let “The Gene Pool” stand on its own – which it’s quite capable of doing.

Read the article Review: ‘The Gene Pool’ is more than all right.

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“The Gene Pool” Featured on Seattle Gay Scene

"The Gene Pool" at Annex Theatre, Capitol Hill, Seattle

We are grateful for Seattle Gay Scene for running the feature Arouet’s “The Gene Pool” offers LGBTQ theater for Pride month. They interviewed director Roy Arauz about The Gene Pool.

[quote]Roy Arauz: To me the play is about how normal and traditional a “non-traditional” family actually is. Here you have a couple that has been together for more than 18 years, dealing with all the issues that come with any long-term relationship.[/quote]

Read the entire article and interview at Seattle Gay Scene.

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The Journey to Opening Night

I’ll admit it: I’ve had a crush on the work by Christi Stewart-Brown for twenty years now. It was her work that introduced me to fringe theater. I got to see most of her plays when I lived in Washington, DC, except for The Gene Pool, which premiered after I moved to Seattle.

When I finally read the play a few years ago, I knew immediately I wanted to direct it. It spoke to me on many levels; I had to make it happen. I approached several theatres and held a reading of the play to gauge interest. A fringe company in Seattle passed because the play was deemed “too normal”, while a small theater in the suburbs passed because they were alarmed the women actually kissed on stage. It wasn’t that they were lesbians, but did they really have to show it?

I realized then, that the most certain way for me to direct The Gene Pool would be to produce it myself. After stalling for a couple of years, I was finally propelled to follow through and get it done after dinner and conversation with a friend. Luckily, I found myself surrounded by friends and family that believed not only in me, but in this excellent play and what it had to say. Thus, Arouet was born.

The casting of the show was something else. We had an astonishing number of talented people at callbacks—I could have cast the show several times over. Decisions were made, and now, after four weeks of very intense, and fun rehearsals I find it impossible to think of anyone else in these parts.

I was lucky to secure an excellent design team. A mutual friend of the author and mine designed the set (the only person I know who saw the original production); costumes and lights were designed by friends willing to jump in and work with me for little budget; a stage manager with whom I’d worked before; and an assistant director who is one of my best friends and with whom I have an excellent working relationship—truly my right hand in this process.

And now, here we are, less than a week until opening night. I look forward to sharing with you this next part of the journey.

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Sound Design for “The Gene Pool”

I have a pretty extensive sound library, but I ran into a roadblock when creating the motorcycle effects for The Gene Pool: all of my field recordings were of motorcycles coming or going, and therefor they always incorporated the doppler effect, rendering most of my motorcycle effects useless. I needed sustained motorcycle sounds to authentically coincide with the dialog and staging.

Thanks to some ducking compressors and a library created by Colin Hart, I was able to create some awesome sound effects for the show.

Here is a sample of his field work:

Yamaha R1 Blog Demo by Colin Hart

I really appreciate the lengths that Colin Hart went to in order to record a consistently high quality soundset. I’m really impressed with his effort and grateful for his contribution to this show.

For the record, I wouldn’t have the nerve to do this, I would worry too much:

We had 2 Sanken Cubs on the bike. One up front next to the top of the gas tank, and the other next to the license plate. Next, we had a Shure SM57 attached next to the other side of the license plate, facing down towards the exhaust. Last, we had a Neumann KMR81i attached next to the swing arm, facing back towards the exhaust.

[box]J.S. Epperson is the sound designer for The Gene Pool. He has previously created sound and voice over work for Arouet, Arts West, Redwood Theatre and Theatre 9/12. You can read a clever paragraph or two about Epperson on the Cast and Crew page or you can visit his website. Read some fabulously nerdy blog posts about Arouet sound design.[/box]