Robert Winn has designed four Living Black and White sets for Pegasus since early 2016. He was also the Technical Director for our big Broadway-style musical “The Cuban and the Redhead” in September 2018. Those two roles interact quite a bit, and it helps if you’ve done both. The set designer draws an initial sketch of the proposed set, based on reading the script and talking to the director. In production meetings, this design gets refined and approved. The designer then creates technical drawings that enable the technical director and his/her crew to build the set.
The technical director is responsible for the set build, using a crew of builders, his/her own labor, and a scenic artist. During the set build, the set designer and the tech director stay in close contact, as there are often tweaks to be made to the design once the build is in progress.
Part of the reason Robert is such an amazing set designer is that he has experience both as a designer and a tech director. His designs reflect not only his vision and imagination, but the practical realities of bringing that vision to life. It’s a skillful balancing act that is not easy to cultivate.
When not designing for Pegasus, Robert designs for other local theatres (primarily Undermain) and is a scenic painter for film and TV. The latter role keeps him on the road for months at a time. His film projects include the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie as well as “The Ghost and the Darkness”, requiring him to be in South Africa for seven months. When asked how his family adjusts to his travel, Robert said “I think they like having me home, and I think they’re ready for me to leave when the next job comes along.”
Robert started working in theatre in his teens and is talented enough to have made his living in the arts his entire adult life. He likes that every project is different and provides the opportunity to work with different people. On a personal note, Robert is a huge baseball fan and has a goal to visit every major league park (now 50% complete.)
For our part, we are forever beholden to Michelle Foster for introducing us to Robert. Working with him has been extremely rewarding! We can only hope this collaboration continues for many years to come!