VALDOSTA — If done right, says Tom Hansen, theatre audiences don’t notice set designs, lighting and costumes.

Hansen designed the sets for Peach State Summer Theatre’s 2011 season of “Carousel,” Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” and “Hairspray.”

Hansen, PSST! lighting designer Genny Wynn, and PSST! costume designer Esther Iverson know most show reviews will be about the performances, especially positive reviews.

Hansen says audiences and critics usually don’t notice when he and other designers get things right. They notice when something in their given departments goes wrong — the set that malfunctions, the lighting that is too dark or too bright, the piece of costume that comes off or tears during a scene.

If everything goes well, the sets smoothly adapt to the story for entrances and exits, the lights add ambiance and intensity to a scene, the costumes fit both the characters and the show’s settings.

If all goes well, the audience notices their work subconsciously as a seamless part of the story.

“So, if no one notices it or mentions it, that usually means we did what we’re supposed to do,” Hansen says.

That said, each designer puts an indelible touch on this season of PSST! musicals.

To see some of the many things that Hansen gets right, check out the coastline and Nettie Fowler’s spa set in “Carousel”; the textured jungle backdrops in “The Jungle Book”; Motormouth Mabel’s record shop, Corny Collins’ TV dance show set, and Mr. Pinky’s Hefty Hideaway in “Hairspray.” There are the suggestive touches, too: the docks in “Carousel” and the Baltimore buildings in “Hairspray.”

In Wynn’s case, the lights are more subtle, but check out the prison drab of “Hairspray’s” jailhouse scene contrasted with the brilliant blast of optimism with the same show’s “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” In “Carousel,” she captures the tones of a misty seaside that mirror the melancholy of the play’s more serious message along with the brighter shades for the more upbeat moments. In “The Jungle Book,” her lighting brings out the colors of the characters and costumes, transforming the Disney cartoon to animated life.

Iverson’s costumes populate the different worlds of each show. Many of the supporting actors in all three shows play several characters. Iverson’s costumes invest each character with the immediate shift in personality no matter how many roles a performer plays. Iverson creates the wardrobe of a New England coast town in the late 1800s with “Carousel.” She designs a menagerie of looks for the animal characters of “The Jungle Book.” She dresses the population of an over-the-top Baltimore of the early 1960s in “Hairspray.” Regular audiences of PSST! and Valdosta State University Theatre & Dance will not be surprised by Iverson’s versatility; she has worked with both previously.

As an assistant professor, Iverson supervises costume design for the majority of shows each VSU Theatre & Dance season. She worked as the costume shop supervisor for Minnesota State University Theatre Department and the costume designer for Highland Summer Theatre in Mankato, Minn., for 16 years. With a master’s in costume design, Iverson moved to Bowling Green State University’s theatre department in Ohio before moving to Valdosta. She has designed costumes for past PSST! seasons.

Hansen’s connection to Peach State developed from past PSST! actor-director and VSU Theatre graduate Matthew McGee. They both work at Florida’s Show Palace Dinner Theatre, where Hansen is resident set designer. He is also resident set designer for Eight O’Clock Theatre and the John Leggio School for the Performing Arts, both also in Florida.

Wynn is an associate professor at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va. She is also a VSU Theatre graduate, attending the school in the early 1990s. She has designed lighting for shows across the nation.

As designers, Iverson, Hansen and Wynn begin work on shows months prior to opening nights. They work closely with directors and producers. Individually, they work with other designers on a specific show so that sets, costumes and lights do not clash but rather complement each other.

Though their work often begins prior to a show being cast, the realization of their designs aren’t felt until almost opening night. Casts usually put on costumes during the rehearsal about three nights prior to a show’s opening. Lighting is implemented in the last days. Many are the tales of theatre sets being completed only hours or moments before opening curtain.

Costumes transform rehearsing actors into characters. Lighting makes actors shine. Sets map out their world.

“It doesn’t become theatre until you get the lights, the sets and costumes,” Hansen says. “Until you have those elements, it’s all just rehearsal.”



Peach State Summer Theatre’s shows, “Carousel,” Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” and “Hairspray,” continue through mid-July. More information on any or all of these shows, tickets, etc.: Visit www.valdosta.edu/psst; or call (229) 259-7770.