ShowbizU: Scenic Designer David Gallo on Projections

The decision of whether or not to use projections is no longer a decision for me. It just kind of flows. It's overused, but it flows organically out of the process. There's nothing weirder than going like, you're doing the set and someone else is doing the projections, because then I want to say, okay, fine, I do it, you start. Projections is basically layering something on top of the scenographer, putting a tool into the scenographer's toolbox. Do you know what I mean? So the very decision of whether or not to use them is fundamental and I think a part of early and intense collaboration with the smallest amount of your creative team. It just simply works better that way. I mean, there are certain shows that just beg for projections. You know, you do it, you say, well, obviously, you know, this seemed like the way to go. And there are other ones that it's not. You know, I'm doing a big musical in Europe right now and we flip-flop. I, not we, I flip-flop. I've flopped now and I'm leaving it that way, but that's a huge decision. You know, projectors, personnel, servers, whatever. And people go, yeah, yeah, but what about it? I go, I don't know. But you take a show like Holler If You Hear Me, every single thing on that stage, every single thing from day one was all incorporated. The design left nothing. Nothing aside, it's a seamless integration of scenery, media, all of that, and that's ultimately the goal.