Another Comedy Central Roast
Well I waited a couple of months before posting about this years' ROAST. . . hoping that I'd be able to track down some good photos. That just didn't pan out; as our photographer thought it was more important to take close-ups of celebrities rather than capture the production elements that our company developed and created. I suppose I should have learned my lesson by now to take my own photos.
This year Comedy Central roasted Alec Baldwin, and it marked the 14th Comedy Central Roast that I've worked on. It's getting harder to list all of them but, don't worry, I won't bore you with that list here. I love these events, though. I've done Post Parties, Press Tents, Backstage Areas, and (of course) Red Carpets. For all of them Comedy Central has made a giant effort to invest in these spaces. They don't whittle down budgets or minimize the various ways to utilize their investment. Instead they carefully choose what they're going to produce and then make sure they get the most out of those elements. I've been lucky to work with some great people there, and I've always appreciated their dedication to the product they create.
The design was another quick turnaround (surprise!). The inspiration came from another great main show scenic design by John Calkins. He's been doing the Roast main show set for as long as I can remember, and I absolutely love his style. His sets can have this subtle Mid-Century Modern vibe that make them fun and classy without looking kitschy. He layers his scenery perfectly, and gives lighting designers a playground to manipulate. I never have any trouble developing something to accompany his concepts.
Anyway. . . enough chat. Just wanted to share a little glimpse of the Roast this year. As I said, it's always a project I love. The clients loved everything and the load-in went very smoothly. Everything was on-budget and on-time. So I'll mark this one up as a victory. . . and we're on to the next project!