DRAFTING
I strangely enjoy drafting. Being a good draftsperson as a designer is extremely valuable. The better you can communicate the accuracy of your design, the more likely the shop can fully support your vision - particularly when it comes to the success of the details, details, details. I'm an avid Vectorworks user, and have been for decades. Though I still can not separate myself from owning hand-drafting tools. I own more drafting tools than I can ever use, but they make the studio tables look more sophisticated than a trackpad and keyboard!
SHIFT PLOTS
As a young designer, I thought it was nearly impossible to design a sizeable musical without fly and wing space. As an experienced designer, I've designed more musicals without wing-and-fly space than I ever imagined. A shift plot allows us to anticipate how, when, and where changes in the positions of scenery will navigate the stage aside actors, dancers, and sometimes musicians too!
COLOR ELEVATIONS
Every design develops its own language, and part of that language includes how to communicate color. Frequently it's a series of detailed color elevations. On smaller projects, sometimes a collage and a good conversation will suffice. Sometimes I find myself providing very specific color swatches to match shop arrangements - time, money, resources, and experience. Sometimes the language includes all of the above and more.
