James Wolk is in his 12th season as scenic designer for Stages St. Louis at the Robert G. Reim Theatre in Kirkwood, and he says each production is a chance to retool his skill set and gain fresh inspiration. Most recently, he crafted a tropical milieu for last September’s production of South Pacific, and this year’s schedule includes this year’s schedule includes favorites like Mamma Mia! and Oklahoma!. The theater company’s move to a new performing arts center across town in 2019 is sure to bring new outlets for creativity as well.
Wolk originally studied physics at Saint Louis University, but attending plays and volunteering with his high school theater group had ignited a spark he couldn’t ignore. Creating stage environments was a passion, so he decided to get a bachelor’s in theater instead and later earned a master’s degree in the field from Southern Methodist University. “The first professional production I saw as a kid was a matinee of The Merchant of Venice at The Rep,” Wolk recalls. “The experience had such an impact on me, I can still remember which seat I sat in.” As an adult, he worked with mentors like stage director Jack Going, who taught him how to create atmosphere and emotion through images, lighting and props.
Wolk and artistic director Michael Hamilton already are reviewing set designs for Stages’ 2018 season, which gets underway in June. They decided on the productions and began tossing around rough set ideas last fall. “We get all of our other designers involved, including costume, lighting and production staff,” he says. “It’s good to have other people around to keep a practical lid on your dreams. Otherwise, it would be easy to go crazy with the budget!”
First, he creates sketches of his stage design concepts, and then builds 3-D models of them. Next is assembling the actual set with the production crew to craft a visual atmosphere for each musical or play. “I see every prop, door, wall and picture as an actor,” he says. “Together, they tell a tale just like the characters delivering their lines.”
Wolk says his most memorable set design experience was a play at an outdoor theater in Augsburg, Germany. “We had a huge budget—about a quarter of a million dollars—which was exciting,” he says. “But the show also was fraught with potential disaster, including the weather. I didn’t speak German, and I hadn’t worked with the metric system before. It was a major challenge to put everything together, but opening night was amazing. They even brought all of the behind-the-scenes staff on stage for the curtain call.” Another of his favorite sets included a large pane of images designed to come apart like shards of shattering glass. “The pieces moved and danced around,” he says. “It was a fantastic effect!”
Wolk says he gets daily inspiration from directors, playwrights, actors, novels and historical characters. “As soon as I read the first lines of a script, I start extracting ideas from it,” he notes. “My wife, Jacqueline, always knows when I’m thinking about a new play. I toss and turn at night with all kinds of dreams, concepts and images percolating in my head.”
Photo at top: Bill Barrett
