Play Guide [2.6MB PDF] - Arizona Theatre Company

DESIGN
DESIGNING A HAUNTED HOUSE
ATC’s Marketing and PR Manager in Tucson, Jeff
Grynkewich, got in touch with Scenic Designer,
Drew Boughton, to quiz him about the original
inspiration for the gothic mansion (and Egyptian
tomb) that he created for The Mystery of Irma Vep.
Jeff Grynkewich: How did you get involved in The
Mystery of Irma Vep?
Andrew Boughton: David Ira had asked me
to design Scapin the previous season and we
really enjoyed that and working together. David
is a brilliant director and takes big risks visually.
When he talked to me about Scapin, he talked
about a fairly radical set concept: extreme forced
perspective. That is when the set appears much
deeper than it is by making the buildings at the
back smaller and smaller. That was a very exciting
R. Hamilton Wright and Bob Sorenson in
Arizona Theatre Company’s 1999 production
of The Mystery of Irma Vep. Photo by Tim
Fuller/Arizona Theatre Company.
idea to me. So when it came to Irma Vep we talked about the monster fi lms that the play
references and the opportunity of putting that on the ATC stage. For me it was the chance
of a lifetime.
JG: Do you have any personal connections to the project?
DB: The personal connections really are the people involved. David Ira, of course, and the
costume designer David Kay Mickelsen whose work is always amazing. Just working with
a group of guys like that together on a project is a kick in the pants.
JG: What should the audience expect to see when they walk in the theatre?
DB: They should expect to see an affectionate homage to some great cinematic horror
and mystery, and some great stew of theater crafts: the impossibly quick costume changes,
the tour de force performances required just to get the play from start to fi nish every
night. Supercool lighting, sound and production. They should also expect along the way
something -- how do you say -- "zany."
JG: What was your inspiration for this project?
The Mystery of Irma Vep
Arizona Theatre Company Play Guide 18