Stage Directions • April 2019 • Artist Profile: Brittany Loesch

Brittany Loesch got an early start on her career—she began her working as a scenic designer and prop master while still in high school. Through a combination of hands-on training and natural ability, Loesch learned about every aspect of technical theater. Based in New York, Loesch has designed several popular sets in the inventory of Gateway Set Rentals for Rent, Avenue Q, and Flashdance. At The Gateway Playhouse her credits include scenic designs for Rent and Rocky Horror as well as set and projection design for S’wonderful, in collaboration with director Ray Roderick and lighting designer Jose Santiago; I Love A Piano, in collaboration with director Bob Durkin and lighting designer Kim Hanson; The Drowsy Chaperone, collaborating with director Dominic Riggerio and lighting designer Christopher Landy; Sophisticated Ladies, collaborating with director Chet Walker and lighting designer Brian Loesch, and Gateway’s Haunted Playhouse Nightmare, for which she provided art direction and scenic design in and around the the playhouse itself, collaborating with director Michael Baker.

As a prop master, Loesch’s attention to detail truly shines. Her expertise in painting and prop fabrication has resulted in some extremely innovative pieces. A few examples include the creation a magic rose for a production of Beauty and The Beast that was functional—it featured wireless petal dropping and internal lights to illuminate the rose. For a production of Euridice, Loesch custom-painted umbrellas to match the play’s set, contrasting and highlighting the difference between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Loesch created a lush, colorful speakeasy wall that was period-perfect for Thoroughly Modern Millie and for My Way, she created a realistic, naturalistic bar, chandelier, and sconce fabrication, plus fabricated a visually arresting curtain as well. Merging her set design eye and props work for a production of Sweet Charity, Loesch created eye-catching bed dressing and upholstery designs. Loesch also worked as the scenic charge artist for productions of Aida, Urinetown, and Sweet Charity. Her additional credits as a technician and designer include her work for Actors Studio Rep and the Manhattan School of Music.

How did Loesch develop her strong work ethic, and how does she apply it to each project she undertakes? Here, she explains how she honed her approach and philosophy as her career progressed and offers some advice to scenic designers and prop masters from a creative and commercial standpoint.

Loesch’s interest in the arts as a child actually was sparked by music. “Theater slowly crept into my life,” she recalls. “My flute got stolen when I was in the school band, so I switched from music to art classes. The art teachers at my school also taught theater, so I started doing crew in high school. While I was still in high school, in fact, a friend who worked at Gateway told me that there was a followspot operator position open. By this point, I loved everything I was doing technically, so I was young and hungry, and I went for the job and I got it.”

Loesch was never daunted by the prospect of working in a professional capacity at a young age. She began her handson training during Gateway’s 2000 season. “It was winter, and my first spot operator job was on an ice skating show,” she recalls. “I loved that instantly because I could keep the spot constantly moving. I had to pay attention to what I was doing, which helped me learn, of course. I couldn’t doze off while I was on the spot! On the weekend, I did spot for a comedy show, and that was harder, actually, because I had to keep the spot steady.” As she began working on more productions for Gateway, Loesch also started thinking about college, and decided to study theater at Pace University in New York City. While at Pace, she designed productions of Violet, Kiss of The Spider Woman, A Perfect Ganesh, and Iboga, before graduating with a BFA.

Loesch also continued her work at Gateway. “During one summer season, I took an internship—I was working on scenic painting a lot, and in the prop shop,” she says. “Doing jobs like vacuuming off the lighting equipment at first. My progression at Gateway happened gradually. I was willing to work at rough and tumble stuff—if you show people you want to go forward and conquer, they’ll let you do it. So, I became the unnamed assistant to the scenic designer— I did scene changes and scenic coordination, then ultimately moved on to run the prop and paint shops.”

This experience led her to outside jobs including work on Language of Angels at the Abrons Art Center and Quiet Cry for Passajj Productions on Theater Row. Again, Loesch never allowed nerves to override her belief in her ability. She’s a firm believer in the just-go-forward school of thought. “One thing I’ve noticed is that when you get nervous about something you need to do, just starting to do it is your answer,” Loesch points out. “There’s only so much planning you can do—and should do. You don’t want to be running around in a loop of planning. You need to have the confidence to know you can do the work, and then just do the best job you can.”

At the same time, Loesch decided it was time to step back and take a close, in-depth look at the work she’d done—and decide how she could apply the experience she’d garnered to the goals she had for her own career in the future. “I learned to slow down a little,” Loesch says. “At first, I jumped too far, too fast because I could at Gateway. I thought solely about whatever project I was working on, as opposed to considering what it was that I really wanted to learn.” Her education helped her feel more self-assured as well. “I went to college for scenic design,” Loesch says. “After that, I just had more confidence in myself. For Gateway’s production of Sophisticated Ladies, I took on designing a complicated, massive bandstand set-up. It was a big challenge, and lots of hard work. But it was only when it was built and finished that I looked at the set and the enormity of what I have created hit me. It was a wonderful moment!”

Another great love of Loesch’s remains prop building. She learned the skill as she rose up the ranks at Gateway, and never misses an opportunity to take on a challenging fabrication project. Still, Loesch does a large amount of design work these days, which means she often has to leave primary prop duties to the colleagues she works with. “I love props; prop design and fabrication so much, I get a little jealous when the props team I work with gets to build now more than I do!” she laughs. “But I’m lucky, I drop in to see them as much as I can, and they let me play around a little.”

One of the jobs Loesch undertook in terms of building turned out to lead to one of the most rewarding creations of her career, in terms of using her imagination and melding it with technique. “That happened when I built a Queen Victoria sculpture even though I had never done sculpture before,” she recalls. “So, I used everything I could think of to make it work—fabric wire, expanding foam, glue, clay, everything but the kitchen sink. I was determined to make it work, and it did! That’s kind of another good lesson I try to keep in mind and remember, too. Another example of the importance of moving, and not doubting yourself, or telling yourself you aren’t capable of doing something and making it work well.”

Loesch has also toured the country with productions of Rent and Mooseltoe and has worked extensively in children’s theater. In the future, she just wants to keep growing— and learning even more. “Whenever I find I have a gap in my knowledge, I just go forward,” she sums up. “I just tell myself, “Go for it!” When I do that, I always figure out what it is I need to know—and I’m always glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.”