Designing Native Gardens: A Collaborative Journey with the Director

One of the most exciting stages of any production happens long before the audience ever takes their seats—when the design begins to take shape through collaboration. As we begin work on Native Gardens, I’m thrilled to dive into the creative process alongside the director to develop a visual world that fully supports the story being told on stage.
Our upcoming design meetings will focus on exploring the themes embedded within the script and uncovering how they can be expressed visually. Native Gardens is rich with layered ideas—identity, ownership, legacy, and the often-unspoken tensions that exist just beneath the surface of polite society. Together, we’ll dig deeper into the text, examining character motivations, tonal shifts, and moments of contrast to inform every design choice.
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This collaborative process allows us to move beyond what’s simply written on the page and ask bigger questions:
What does this world feel like?
How can the set reflect both the order and chaos that coexist in this story?
By approaching the design as a conversation—between director, designer, and script—we’re able to challenge initial assumptions and push toward a fresh, fully realized visual interpretation. These discussions often lead to unexpected discoveries, inspiring an entirely new visualization of the space that elevates the storytelling.

I look forward to sharing more as the design evolves and Native Gardens continues to grow from the page into a vibrant, living world on stage.

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