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Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order.
It’s been said that nobody leaves a theater humming the scenery. But if you’ve ever seen a show designed by Dallas scenic artist Rodney Dobbs, you might leave singing its praises.
Dobbs’ sets often help tell the story of a play, without distracting from the actors, or creating obstacles for the action. He’s a master of stretching a small budget into impressive visuals, as he did recently with Dallas playwright Jonathan Norton’s new play, Mississippi Goddamn, at the South Dallas Cultural Center. For that, he created a 1960s-era suburban home with a working kitchen (or so it seemed) and period-perfect furnishings.
Dobbs, co-founder of the Pocket Sandwich Theatre, designed his first show, the musical Shenandoah, for the old Dallas Repertory Theatre at NorthPark Mall in 1978. He’s been sketching, building, painting and decorating sets ever since for more than 250 plays and musicals in theaters in Dallas, Fort Worth and cities around and in between.
With a degree in commercial art from Arkansas State, and experience with carpentry from summers working at his father’s construction business, Dobbs moved to Dallas in 1977 for a job in the art department at Zale Corporation. A co-worker talked him into helping build sets at Dallas Rep. By 1980, at age 26, he was running “the Pocket” with theater business partner Joe Dickinson. The little playhouse on Mockingbird Lane is still filling seats nearly every night of the year with comedies and melodramas, with audiences invited to toss popcorn at the stage and hiss and boo the villains.
We nailed down Dobbs for an email interview as he was finishing the scenery for Jubilee Theatre’s next production, Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, opening April 3. He has a dozen more shows lined up to design this year on local stages.
Theater scenery has to balance design and function against the budget allowed. What’s the smallest budget you’ve had to work with? And the largest?
I tend to be a very practical designer. It doesn’t matter how impressive the set looks, if it doesn’t work for the action in the play. In the early years of the Pocket, we had a $200 budget for set materials and sometimes I didn’t spend it all. But I remember a production in 1988 of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean for the [now-defunct] Dallas Alliance Theatre that basically had no budget. I scrounged and borrowed and begged and got the set put in and it was a successful show. I was motivated to do the show because it was directed by my dear friend, Bruce Coleman, and had Cindee Mayfield, my wife, in the cast.
I have done lots of big set musicals for Garland Summer Musicals and Uptown Players, but the biggest single set show I have done was August: Osage County for WaterTower Theatre. The set was a giant cut-away three-story farmhouse. The top piece of the roof had to be removable so they could operate their lighting catwalk. I’m not sure what the budget was, but I was told that it went substantially over-budget. I am still designing there.
Also see: Elaine Liner’s review of August: Osage County at WaterTower Theatre
Do you have a favorite show you’ve designed? And what is the best scenery you’ve ever seen by another designer?
The Madwoman of Chaillot at Pocket Sandwich Theatre back in the early 1990s is my favorite among my set designs. The first act was in a Paris street café and the second act was in the cluttered basement of an old building. When the lights came up for the second act, the set transformed with opening flats, flying walls and sliding platforms, all operated by the cast and tech crew offstage. It was quite a feat in the limited space of the Pocket. The set change got applause every night.
And sets by other designers … I love to see shows designed by my Dallas designer friends (and competition) Bruce Coleman, Randel Wright and Claire Floyd DeVries. I’m always looking for ideas I can “borrow.”
What do you wish theatergoers — or critics, directors and actors — would understand better about scenery?
Theater scenery is not real. It is usually built with a budget and a timetable and rarely, in my experience, comes up to the vision that the designer had for it. Also, actors, quit slamming doors so hard, and throwing your body weight against a wall made of thin plywood!
The Pocket Sandwich Theatre just goes on and on as other theater companies fold. What is the secret of its success?
Joe Dickinson [who died in 2010] always said, “I want people to leave our theater feeling better than when they arrived.” So we have typically left the heavy stuff for the other venues and concentrated on lighter entertainment-oriented plays. The popcorn-throwing melodramas are a huge and ongoing success and our Ebenezer Scrooge is a yearly guaranteed sell-out. Fairly consistent box office, coupled with the fact that the Pocket, now in its 35th year, still has no full-time employees, keeps the theater plugging along. No big changes planned there, but we are always looking at ways to improve and keep our product consistent and appealing to our audience.
What are you working on next?
Two musicals: West Side Story for Garland Summer Musicals and Catch Me If You Can for Uptown Players. Two shows this year for Contemporary Theatre of Dallas and six more shows for the Pocket. Yes, I keep busy.
Is there a show you dream of designing? What and where?
I don’t care what the show is as long as I could design it for the Dallas Theater Center. Not looking for that to happen anytime soon.
You spend a lot of time with power tools and hammers. Any scars?
Of course, there have been injuries. Mostly cuts and bumps and minor falls. I can say that none have ever put me in the hospital or required stitches, knock on wood. I do have a saying, “It’s not a finished set until I’ve bled on it.” And that is often true.
If someone wrote the movie of your life, what would be the title?
The Accidental Set Designer. I never really planned to do this, especially as the thing that takes up most of my time. I just like doing it and people keep hiring me.
100 Creatives:
100. Theater Mastermind Matt Posey
99. Comedy Queen Amanda Austin
98. Deep Ellum Enterpriser Brandon Castillo
97. Humanitarian Artist Willie Baronet
96. Funny Man Paul Varghese
95. Painting Provocateur Art Peña
94. Magic Man Trigg Watson
93. Enigmatic Musician George Quartz
92. Artistic Luminary Joshua King
91. Inventive Director Rene Moreno
90. Color Mavens Marianne Newsom and Sunny Sliger
89. Literary Lion Thea Temple
88. Movie Maestro Eric Steele
87. Storytelling Dynamo Nicole Stewart
86. Collaborative Artist Ryder Richards
85. Party Planning Print maker Raymond Butler
84. Avant-gardist Publisher Javier Valadez
83. Movie Nerd James Wallace
82. Artistic Tastemakers Elissa & Erin Stafford
81. Pioneering Arts Advocates Mark Lowry & Michael Warner
80. Imaginative Director Jeremy Bartel
79. Behind-the-Scenes Teacher Rachel Hull
78. Kaleidoscopic Artist Taylor “Effin” Cleveland
77. Filmmaker & Environmentalist Michael Cain
76. Music Activist Salim Nourallah
75. Underground Entrepreneur Daniel Yanez
74. Original Talent Celia Eberle
73. Comic Artist Aaron Aryanpur
72. Classical Thespian Raphael Parry
71. Dance Captain Valerie Shelton Tabor
70. Underground Culture Mainstay Karen X. Minzer
69. Effervescent Gallerist Brandy Michele Adams
68. Birthday Party Enthusiast Paige Chenault
67. Community Architect Monica Diodati
66. Intrepid Publisher Will Evans
65. Writerly Wit Noa Gavin
64. Maverick Artist Roberto Munguia
63. Fresh Perspective Kelsey Leigh Ervi
62. Virtuosic Violinist Nathan Olson
61. Open Classical’s Dynamic Duo Mark Landson & Patricia Yakesch
60. Rising Talent Michelle Rawlings
59. Adventurous Filmmaker Toby Halbrooks
58. Man of Mystery Edward Ruiz
57. Inquisitive Sculptor Val Curry
56. Offbeat Intellect Thomas Riccio
55. Doers and Makers Shannon Driscoll & Kayli House Cusick
54. Performance Pioneer Katherine Owens
53. Experimental Filmmaker and Video Artist Mike Morris
52. Flowering Fashioner Lucy Dang
51. Insightful Artist Stephen Lapthisophon
50. Dallas Arts District
49. Farmer’s Market Localvore Sarah Perry
48. Technological Painter John Pomara
47. Progressive Playmakers Christopher Carlos & Tina Parker
46. Purposive Chef Chad Houser
45. Absorbing Artist Jeff Gibbons
44. Artistic Integrator Erica Felicella
43. Multi-talented Director Tre Garrett
42. Anachronistic Musician Matt Tolentino
41. Emerging Veteran Actor Van Quattro
40. Festival Orchestrator Anna Sophia van Zweden
39. Literary Framer Karen Weiner
38. Man Behind the Music Gavin Mulloy
37. The Godfather of Dallas Art Frank Campagna
36. Rising Star Adam A. Anderson
35. Artist Organizer Heyd Fontenot
34. Music Innovator Stefan Gonzalez
33. Triple Threat Giovanni Valderas
32. Cultural Connector Lauren Cross
31. Critical Artist Thor Johnson
30. Delicate Touch Margaret Meehan
29. Fashion Forward Charles Smith II
28. Dedicated Artist Carolyn Sortor
27. Political Cyber Banksy Wylie H Dallas
26. Dance Preserver Lisa Mesa Rogers
25. Rob ‘Ain’t No Creative Like A Bow-Tie-Wearing Creative’ Shearer
24. Scholar of the Stage Susan Sargeant
23. Photographer of Record Justin Terveen
22. Music Man Jeffrey Liles
21. Keeper of the Safe Room Lauren Gray
20. Playwright Jonathan Norton, Man of Many Words
19. Filmmaker and Funniest Comic in Texas Linda Stogner
18. Gallerist Jordan Roth, the Art Scene Cheerleader
17. Artful Advocate Vicki Meek
16. Ballet Queen Katie Puder
15. Carlos Alejandro Guajardo-Molina, the Book Guy
14. Janeil Engelstad, an Artist with Purpose
13. Will Power, Playwright and Mentor
12. Gallerists Gina & Dustin Orlando, Boundary Pushers
11. Moody Fuqua, Music Community Organizer
10. Joshua Peugh, Choreographer to Watch
9. Allison Davidson, Advocate for Art Accessibility
8. Ben Fountain, Man of Letters
7. Fashion Maven Julie McCullough
6. Contemporary Curator and Artist Danielle Avram Morgan
5. Irreverent Art World Organizer Kevin Ruben Jacobs
4. Dwell with Dignity’s Lisa Robison
3. Artists/Curators Michael Mazurek and Jesse Morgan Barnett
