Alright we’re gonna talk about this first. What’s the budget?

While it may seem tacky to get down to brass tacks right off the bat, knowing your budget before you begin your design is extremely necessary before several things happen:

You over-promise and under-deliver

You put a bunch of time into designing something that will never be built

You put yourself in a position to have to cut things later

So first things first, let’s have a chat with the Producer, or Production Manager, and figure out what kind of budget we’re working with on this show. 

What is the budget for Materials?

What is the labour Budget?

It is extremely important to make sure that the scope of the design fits the scope of the production. At first this can seem extremely limiting, but is an excellent opportunity to flex your creative muscles and come up with creative, and sometimes minimalist, solution to stage the play. 

With large budgets and lengthy build periods almost anything can be achieved. But with budget constraints and time limits, creativity has to come to the fore and inform all of your design decisions:

-Can I reuse any materials from previous shows and repurpose them?

-Is there a way to make a set piece serve double or triple duty in several scenes?

-What are the essential elements of the show, what do we really need?

So do some research, put on your thinking cap, and figure out the best way to serve your show at the budget you’ve been given.