Every semester, SUNY Cortland holds a production, produced by our own staff and students. This semester’s play, Anything Goes, opens on Friday, April 4th, at 7:30 and will run for multiple showings until April 13th. It is a fun, light-hearted musical based on the book by Guy Bolton.
The play holds rehearsal nightly with hopes of putting on the best show possible every semester, but there is a great deal of work that goes on behind the scenes as well.
Scott Holdredge has been working as a set designer for around 33 years now, starting his journey at San Diego State University and now works here at Cortland. He has since worked as set designer, lighting designer, sound designer, props and projection designer.
Holdredge freelanced as a designer and Scenic Artist from 2003-2013 before becoming an adjunct at Syracuse University for 3 years, and is now finishing his 9th year at Cortland.
When asked what goes into creating these sets he responds, “It varies, I start with reading the play or musical for entertainment, what is the story?,” said Holdredge. “I then read it to try to understand it on a deeper level, who are the characters, what motivates them? Then, research begins. What is the world of the play? What is the historical context, political, socio-economic climate of the text.”
Holdredge takes what he learns and creates a metaphor or word list which he takes to develop all of the plays, imagery, design, and color.
“For example, for Sweet Charity, last year’s musical the concept was ‘Charity is a discarded gem, a Rhinestone fallen from a once glamourous dress, kicked about the sidewalk, scratched and lackluster,’” said Holdredge. “The set was predominantly projection screens angled like a cut gem.”
Holdredge also worked alongside Costume Designer, Mark Reynolds, to showcase the theme for their play.
They used the Modern Art Movement, a switch from traditional style towards more self-expression,and impressionism, to track through each location of the story, creating a unique, abstract display of storytelling.
The work of preparing the productions seemingly never ends for this crew. They are constantly doing everything they can to make sure it is perfect, even if it may not be noticed from the outside. “By opening night, I may have gone through the play a dozen times,” said Holdregde. “Tracking character relationships, tracking a specific prop, like the handkerchief in Othello, or figuring out how to make scene changes perform smoothly and be motivated by the text.”
Between the endless work from Holdredge, his coworkers, and the intense hours and preparation from the cast, is what ensure that Cortland’s productions will run smoothly and entertain their audience.
This semester’s musical, Anything Goes is a “fun, light, love story with great music and tap dancing,” as stated by Holdredge. The scene takes place on a cruise ship but the sets are not your usual Red White and Blue 1930’s cruise liner. They rather are made up of bright, pastel colors, inspired by a modern art movement, all while keeping the structure of an ocean liner.
The play is held in Dowd Fine Arts Center on weekends April 4th-6th, and April 11th-13th, at 7:30 on Fridays and Saturdays and 2pm on Sundays!