"A Triple Capuccino Effect": An Interview with Anna Kiraly

Below is an excerpt from an interview I conducted with Anna Kiraly (PAY UP, CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN, the upcoming ISABELLA) shortly after the opening of CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN. A native of Hungary and a New York City resident, Anna has been involved with Pig Iron as a set and production designer for the last several years. I find her approach to design refreshing – Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel

GQB: It was explained to me once that there are two kinds of artists. There are those of us who try to push away all the clutter in order to focus our attention on one small thing: to see that thing by itself, unfettered. You can then see the whole world in that small gesture. Other artists try to put everything into the frame, in order to see all the world at once. I call them the Emily Dickinson vs. James Joyce approaches to art. Where are you on this continuum? Describe a process of creating a design where you whittled away or piled on.

AK: I wish I had a method like the above mentioned ones! I think it varies from project to project or mood to mood but if I really want to categorize I try to keep it maximally minimal. I like it best when the idea just arrives (ALMOST by itself!)- just like the axonometric box drawings on the outside of the rooms in PAY UP. We already had the concept of the white space when this idea “came” to me and I’ll never forget Dan’s puzzled expression and his “OK…?”. I like to drive the idea to the point or state where something will necessarily come to you because you are already so focused.

Anoxometric drawings on the wall, in case you were wondering.

GQB: When you begin imagining a design, what drives your creative impulses? Words, images, the audience's perspective? Where do you find the spark? Do you see each design as an isolated project or is "designing" part of a larger project that evolves with each discrete production?

AK: So many questions in one, Quinn. Let me see. Exclude the audience’s perspective. I cannot think of that, I’d be paralyzed. Words, images? I like to do some research but not too much- it tends to kill your creative brain. I don’t think I am too much inspired by words unless they are extremely visual. So it’d be images - a lot of them for me - related and totally unrelated ones from every field: photography, architecture, and pretty much anything. I used to think each project was an integral and isolated whole but more and more it’s becoming clear to me that there is an obsession that I try to express through them; one idea that takes on many forms. I am very happy when that idea coincides with what my collaborators think of the piece or when I can convince them. But it takes so much trust in each other and confidence in your own work!

GQB: What is your favorite space on the planet?

AK: It’s outdoors. Nature with an ocean or sea. No manmade space can recreate it.

I admire a lot of different architecture/spaces but ultimately it’s a spot on one of the Greek isles or the Caribbean… If it has to be a [man-made] space it would be that tiny Greek Orthodox church on Crete with all it’s interior walls painted or a Mayan pyramid or maybe one of the early roman churches in Burgundy - a sacred space in nature. All these spaces are magical.

GQB: You design sets and costumes? Do you see them as similar or different. What are your approaches to both?

AK: Sometimes I do both, sometimes I am (really) happy to just do one. For my puppet pieces I couldn’t think of separating them. Almost always it’s the space that comes first and then I try to imagine it inhabited. My approach to both? It’s my work… I don’t know how to explain it.

GQB: Has being a mom changed or evolved your ideas about space? Have you spent much time imagining space from Nikita's perspective? Can you fathom only being able to see 18 inches in front of one's face?

AK: Well, I clearly see our not-too-big apartment shrinking - if that’s what you mean!

I couldn’t really spend much time imagining how Nikita sees, first of all because it changes so fast and suddenly you know she sees things very far away and in color. She’s always one step ahead. But I think it’s a dialog. I try to tell her what and how I see and she “tells” me what she sees. We exchange “ideas”.

GQB: What public spaces do you like? What theatrical spaces inspire you?

AK: I don’t know. Lately, I really like some of the playgrounds… It’s a new discovery. Theatrical spaces? Black boxes are oppressive to me. Any space could be theatrical-that’s why I really like site-specific work.

GQB: What are the greatest and worst things you've heard said about your designs?

AK: I don’t think anybody ever said anything about my design that was terrible to me. Though criticism is not always welcome-I am especially vulnerable when still in the process of creating something-I often feel detached enough after it’s completed so that I can see what’s good and what’s weak about it. I am often surprised (and pleased) that people like it more than I thought they would (or should). See I am very critical.

GQB: It was so fascinating to watch you work on PAY UP. The design of that space was so beautiful and was so beautifully executed from the design phase through the build phase. Sometimes I wished we could pause the show so the audience could just admire all of the secret parts of that design. I loved the box designs on the outside of the white walls but I worried the audience blocked it from their own view. Is this annoying to you?

AK: Thanks for your words. You see? That’s what I meant. Though I loved it –it seemed imperfect. No, it didn’t annoy me that people were “blocking” the view. Of course I wish we could have had more space with more “air” around the boxes-but with more space available I’d have done something different, maybe…I was curious how the audience would take in the changes of perspective as they moved around, I loved that they had no choice but to be immersed in that visual experience. I thought it was a strong effect especially that their time in there was so limited. No time to linger- a triple cappuccino-effect.

The triple-cappuccino effect.

GQB: If you weren't a designer what would you be?

AK: An opera singer or a tango dancer.

GQB: Some people can only work with music on (Dito), others need total stillness and quiet (Quinn), still others must chew on pens as a way of thinking clearly (Dan). What quirks do you have when working?

AK: I am with you on that, Quinn. Total silence when working, lots of music when in a phase of seeking inspiration. Picking my nose or pulling my hair, when things get really difficult.

GQB: What project would you like to see Pig Iron undertake in the next few years?

AK: A film? A mock-film? Something about film? Something as grand as PAY UP (I think all-in-all scale does you good) and something that is very funny (that’s what you do best). I like the idea of little text, voice-over or prerecorded text as in PAY UP-it was an amazing experiment. I don’t have a play in my mind, probably it should be created by you.