Teaching Artist Leah Reddy corresponded with set designer Wilson Chin about his work on Jonah.
Leah Reddy: What is your theatre origin story?
Wilson Chin: I fell in love with theatre in high school, working backstage at community theatres. But it was just a hobby until after college when I learned that theatre was something I could actually do for a living. After studying set design at the Yale School of Drama, I moved to NYC and worked for many years as an assistant designer before getting myself enough projects to be my own designer.
LR: Were there any other educational or professional experiences that shaped who you are as an artist?
WC: Definitely my years as an associate design to other designers I admire and respect have shaped who I am now. Every designer is wildly different, so getting to work with and observe designers like Riccardo Hernandez, Santo Loquasto, and Soutra Gilmour have informed how I design.
LR: What drew you to Jonah? What resonated with you about this work?
WC: It’s a deeply intimate, personal, and mysterious play. The chance to create a world that feels so delicate and soft, yet emotionally epic and universal felt like an exciting puzzle, especially with this creative team which is a mix of new and longtime collaborators.
LR: We were struck by the stage directions in this piece – for example, “He disappears backward through the door, sucked into the darkness.” How do you approach interpreting stage directions as a set designer?
WC: I love that stage direction! It’s not just about that singular moment – a stage direction about one moment also informs how the whole world of this play operates and feels. There is very little description in the script about the actual setting of this play so, like a detective, I take whatever clues I can get to design a world that feels uniquely created for this text, story, and action.
LR: You’ve worked with director Danya Taymor before. What makes your collaborations successful, and what do you look for in collaborators?
WC: I love Danya! Her process aligns with my own – she digs deeply into the core of a play, unpacking all the layers and investigating how they can manifest themselves visually and physically. It’s an intellectual process, but always linked to how it can resonate emotionally and dramatically. In Danya’s productions, there is an almost overwhelming and bursting catharsis of the heart and mind.
LR: You’ve designed for major stages, including Broadway, national tours, film, and opera. Do you have a dream project or projects you’re thinking about?
WC: I love designing new works and I love designing musicals. So best of all is getting to design new musicals!
LR: What advice do you have for aspiring set designers?
WC: Tell stories that resonate deeply and personally. Or at least, discover how you as a person fit into the story you are telling. That will keep your work and storytelling honest, rich, and meaningful. It’s not about how a set design looks; it’s about how it feels.