Profile: Scenic Designer David Gallo

				David Gallo is among the preeminent designers working in theatre and live events of the past 25 years. His scenic and projection designs include the Tony Award-winning Broadway productions The Drowsy Chaperone (for which he won the Tony Award), Memphis, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others. He has also designed concerts for Phish and children’s spectaculars such as this year’s Super WHY Live! He designed the Broadway premieres of all of playwright August Wilson’s later works including Jitney, King Hedley II, Gem of the Ocean (Tony nomination), Radio Golf (Tony nomination), and the revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Gallo, whose work is often described as “whimsical,” knew from an early age he wanted to “create ideas and alternate universes.” He grew up on military bases, which prepared him well for a life in entertainment. Today, he and his young family divide their time between homes in Harlem and Amsterdam and wherever his work takes them. As he shares, “We are a modern, mobile family with the ability to relocate for short or extended periods. Our focus is keeping family life consistent even if our locations are inconsistent. We’re a family business so we can be somewhat nomadic, plus we consider travel as part of the children’s education.” 2012 continues to be a busy year for Gallo, with upcoming productions of NINE in Asia, large-scale musicals in Zurich and Oberhausen, and Madagascar Live in Europe and South America. As he puts it, “For many years, I have been designing shows in languages I do not speak.” Visual storytelling is one language he clearly speaks fluently.
	BEING AN ARTIST IS…?			…different every day.
				(Phish in concert. Photo: Dave Vann)
	WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?			We are in previews for the pre-Broadway premiere of The Nutty Professor, with Jerry Lewis directing. He’s the last connection to that classic era of comedy. In the past year, I’ve had the privilege to design theater productions for two comedic icons—GIANTS in the genre—Jerry Lewis and Jerry Seinfeld. They are unmatched in the world of comedy but this broke new ground for them and me. We also just launched the tour of Super WHY Live!. Another project in development is a new musical about Tupac Shakur, which will not be your typical Broadway production but a hard-hitting, next-generation musical. The level of media interaction and the way contemporary technologies will be exploited will introduce a new era of Broadway. I’m also collaborating with a major rock musician to integrate music and media more thoroughly with the audience. We’re breaking the fourth wall, so to speak, and breaking how we experience or define performance. Lately, I’ve been toggling roles as designer and creative director.
				(Phish in concert. Photo: Dave Vann)
				(Phish. Photo: ©2009 Ryan Mastro)
	WHAT INSPIRES YOUR WORK?			The ‘click’ at production meetings is my inspiration. When we rid ourselves of convention and open the floor to the free exchange of ideas, allowing them to flow while focusing on the goal, there is a moment when the connection—the ability to crawl into someone’s mind, to share their mind and heart—begins. Experience has merit but when given the privilege to be someone’s artistic eyes, you need the ability to erase what’s in your head and allow each gig to take a new direction. The ‘click’ occurs when I understand the artistic whole.
				(Behind the scenes of Super WHY Live!)
	OF WHAT PROJECT ARE YOU MOST PROUD?			There have been commercial successes and innovative designs, but In Walks Ed and Thunder Knocking on the Door by Keith Glover rise to the top. Keith and I sat as strangers but our minds quickly mirrored each other’s as if we were the same person. The ‘twin sons from different mothers,’ as we like to say, enabled us to collaborate in an extraordinary way. The work speaks to the cohesive vision.
				(In Walks Ed)
				(Hurt Village)
				(Thunder Knocking on the Door)
	WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PROJECT?			I’d love to be part of creating a large-scale arena event with a clear top-to-bottom narrative, immersing 30,000 people into storytelling that blurs the line between performer and spectator. There are limitless possibilities to reinvent a favorite rock act into an epic experience.
				(David’s Tony Award-winning designs for The Drowsy Chaperone)
				(The Drowsy Chaperone)
	WHICH ARTISTS DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?			Various creatives come to mind, like the esteemed late August Wilson, but I reserve my highest respect for two women in my life, my mother and wife who, through tenacity and organization, built a framework to maintain a professional path and raise children.
				(Design sketches for Memphis)			(The final design for Memphis)
	IF YOU COULD LIVE/WORK ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE?			We are very content to have a home and studio in New York and a base in Amsterdam. Both are cultural hubs and easily accessible to and from our primary work in the US, Europe, and Asia. The studio is high-tech enough to allow for easy face-to-face meetings, which I value the most.
				(David discusses Mountaintop with Broadway.com)
	WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?			My first and only non-arts job was delivering pizza while in high school, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
				(Beauty & The Beast European tour design)
				(Gem of the Ocean)
				(Sketches for Machinal)
	WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?			My kids.
				(Sketches for Elmo’s Christmas Countdown)
	WHAT GETS YOU UP IN THE MORNING?			My kids.
				Visit David Gallo… www.davidgallo.com facebook twitter.com/artdecostop