[0:07] - Waitress at its core,

[0:08] I feel like is about finding

your own self-confidence

[0:13] to do what you want in your

life and what makes you happy

[0:18] and really rooted in

female friendship as well.

[0:21] I'm Sarah Bahr. I am the

scenic designer for Waitress.

[0:24] Waitress is a musical that

takes place in a diner.

[0:28] I started thinking about

[0:30] what this diner actually

looked like, where it is,

[0:35] and we really established that

it's rural southern Indiana

[0:38] and I wanted to bring

in some Minnesota flair.

[0:42] So I was thinking of some

[0:45] of my favorite woman owned diners

[0:48] and restaurants in Minnesota.

[0:50] So I thought of Betty's

Pies up in Two Harbors,

[0:53] but also Keys cafe.

[0:55] And you can see some of the influences of

[0:58] that architecture in my design.

[1:01] I wanted it to feel really

quintessential diner,

[1:04] but without a lot of like

shine and newness.

[1:08] It had to feel lived in kinda like a mom

[1:10] and pop place that you just

know you're gonna get a good

[1:13] plate of food, but they

don't really take care

[1:15] of like the ambiance as much.

[1:18] And we have a lot of different scenes

[1:20] that take place outside of the diner.

[1:21] So there needed to be some

flexibility with the set

[1:24] and some creativity of

how we move smoothly in

[1:28] and out of the other locations.

[1:30] I start to establish a color palette

[1:33] and texture palette with the research.

[1:35] And so it was a lot of cool tones

[1:37] and getting some rhythm into the world.

[1:41] So that checkered floor and arch windows

[1:43] and the brick really brought

that kind of energy in to it,

[1:47] that mirrors the music.

Doing the research

[1:50] and then starting to kind of

plot that into the ground plan.

[1:53] I play in the model a

lot, three dimensionally

[1:56] with little model pieces,

[1:57] this is quarter inch scale,

to really think about

[1:59] how all the pieces move.

[2:01] I think really three

dimensionally to help my director

[2:04] and team understand the world

[2:06] and the actors to really

understand three dimensionally.

[2:09] But it also helps our

technical director and painter

[2:12] and carpenters as they

build the set to really kind

[2:15] of envision what it looks like.

[2:16] But then they also use my drafting

[2:18] and paint elevations

to get all the details

[2:21] of the measurements and color and

[2:23] and texture details so they know how

[2:26] to translate it on stage.

[2:27] Without them, this would not happen.

[2:29] So I'm super grateful for an amazing team

[2:32] of people building the set.

[2:35] So we have two diner signs

[2:37] because when we start the

show, it's owned by Joe.

[2:41] It's Joe's Diner, it's aged, it's dated

[2:44] and the sign lights up but not so well.

[2:46] And then when Jenna owns

the diner at the end

[2:50] and names it Lulu's Pies

[2:51] after her daughter, it's much

more colorful and vibrant.

[2:55] It lights up in a really cool back lit way

[2:59] and lots of fun, punchy

colors that come into the rest

[3:02] of the set to really show

that there's this life and

[3:05] growth in the characters' lives.

[3:08] I think everybody should

come and see Waitress.

[3:10] It's beautiful music,

really heartwarming story,

[3:13] amazing performers,

[3:15] and I think the set is

gonna look really beautiful.