TEDxBroadway
David Korins: 3 ways to create a space that moves you, from a Broadway set designer
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You don't have to work on Broadway to design a set, says creative director David Korins -- you can be the set designer of any space in your life. Sharing insights from his work on hits like "Hamilton" and "Dear Evan Hansen," Korins offers a three-step process to start creating the world you want to live in.
David Korins - Creative director, set designer
David Korins develops and designs innovative experiences. Full bio
David Korins develops and designs innovative experiences. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
You're sitting there,
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and it's incredibly frustrating.
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It's maddening.
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You've been sitting there for hours,
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filling in those little tiny circles
with your No. 2 pencil --
with your No. 2 pencil --
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this is a standardized test.
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You look up, half-erased chalkboard,
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you can see that perfectly
written cursive alphabet,
written cursive alphabet,
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the pull-down maps,
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you can hear, tick, tick, tick, ticking
on the wall, that industrial clock.
on the wall, that industrial clock.
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But most importantly, you can feel
that oppressive fluorescent light,
that oppressive fluorescent light,
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that death ray over your head.
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Bzzzzzz.
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And you can't take it anymore,
but you don't have to,
but you don't have to,
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because Miss Darling says,
"OK, boys and girls, you're done."
"OK, boys and girls, you're done."
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So you jump up -- I mean, there is nothing
left of you but a vapor trail.
left of you but a vapor trail.
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You move so quickly, you slam
that little molded plastic chair,
that little molded plastic chair,
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and you sprint down the hallway;
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you go past the Lysol smell
and the BO smell and the cubbies,
and the BO smell and the cubbies,
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and you push the door --
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(Inhales deeply)
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and finally, you're outside.
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Oh, you can feel the wind on your face,
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then the sun on your skin
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and most importantly, the big blue sky.
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That is a revelation of space.
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Making revelations of space is what I do;
I'm a designer and creative director,
I'm a designer and creative director,
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and that's what I do for a living.
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I do it for all sorts of people
in all kinds of different ways,
in all kinds of different ways,
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and it might seem
complicated, but it's not.
complicated, but it's not.
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And over the next couple of minutes,
I'm going to give you three ways
I'm going to give you three ways
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that I think you can
move through your world
move through your world
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so that you, too, can make revelations
of space, or at least reveal them.
of space, or at least reveal them.
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Step one: therapy.
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I know, I know, I know: blah, blah, blah,
New Yorker, blah, blah, blah, therapy.
New Yorker, blah, blah, blah, therapy.
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But seriously, therapy -- you have to know
why you're doing these things, right?
why you're doing these things, right?
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When I got the job
of designing "Hamilton,"
of designing "Hamilton,"
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I sat with Lin-Manuel Miranda, writer,
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Tommy Kail, director, and I said,
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"Why are we telling
this 246-year-old story?
this 246-year-old story?
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What is it about the story
that you want to say,
that you want to say,
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and what do you want people to feel like
when they experience the show?"
when they experience the show?"
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It's important. When we get that,
we move into step two: the design phase.
we move into step two: the design phase.
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And I'll give you
some little tricks about that,
some little tricks about that,
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but the design phase is important
because we get to make these cool toys.
because we get to make these cool toys.
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I reach into Lin's brain,
he reaches into mine,
he reaches into mine,
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this monologue becomes a dialogue.
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And I make these cool toys,
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and I say, "Does this world
look like the world
look like the world
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that you think could be a place
where we could house your show?"
where we could house your show?"
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If the answer is yes --
and when the answer is yes --
and when the answer is yes --
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we move into what I think
is the most terrifying part,
is the most terrifying part,
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which is the execution phase.
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The execution phase is when
we get to build this thing,
we get to build this thing,
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and when this conversation goes
from a few people to a few hundred people
from a few people to a few hundred people
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now translating this idea.
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We put it in this beautiful little thing,
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put it in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
super-sizer machine
super-sizer machine
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and blow it up full-scale,
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and we never know if we did it right
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until we show up onstage and go,
"Is it OK? Is it OK?"
"Is it OK? Is it OK?"
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Here's the thing:
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you don't have to be Lin,
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you don't have to have a book
that you want to turn into a show
that you want to turn into a show
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in order to do this in your real life.
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You're already starring in a show,
by the way. It's called your life.
by the way. It's called your life.
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Congratulations. (Laughter)
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But seriously, Shakespeare said it:
"All the world's a stage."
"All the world's a stage."
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He nailed that part.
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What he screwed up royally
was that part where he said,
was that part where he said,
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"And we are merely players."
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It's ridiculous. We're not merely players.
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We are the costume designers
and the lighting designers
and the lighting designers
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and the makeup artists in our own world,
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and I want to get you to think about
being the set designer in your world.
being the set designer in your world.
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Because I think you can leave here
if you do these three steps
if you do these three steps
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and a couple of little tricks,
as I said, I'm going to tell you,
as I said, I'm going to tell you,
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and you can begin to change the world
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the way you want to.
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You want to do it?
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OK. Everybody write a show.
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(Laughter)
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No. Just kidding.
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OK. Step one: therapy. Right?
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How are you feeling?
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That's what the therapist says:
"How are you feeling today?"
"How are you feeling today?"
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It's important to remember that,
because when we design the world for you,
because when we design the world for you,
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the therapy is important.
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It tells you that emotion
is going to become light and color.
is going to become light and color.
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A good example of that light and color
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is a show I designed called
"Dear Evan Hansen."
"Dear Evan Hansen."
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(Cheers)
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"Dear Evan Hansen" exists -- oh my God --
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"Dear Evan Hansen" exists in a world
of almost all light and color.
of almost all light and color.
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So I chose a color: inky-black darkness.
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(Laughter)
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Inky-black darkness is a color
the way that sadness is an emotion.
the way that sadness is an emotion.
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And this show transforms people,
but not before it wrecks people.
but not before it wrecks people.
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I bet you're wondering, "How expensive
could the set possibly be to transform you
could the set possibly be to transform you
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if you sit for two hours and 20 minutes
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in inky-black darkness?"
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The answer is: cheap!
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Inky-black darkness,
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turn the lights on at the right time.
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Seriously, think about leaving
Miss Darling's class.
Miss Darling's class.
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Inky-black darkness gives way
at the right moment,
at the right moment,
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we fly away that wall and reveal
a beautiful blue sky.
a beautiful blue sky.
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It blows people away
and it transports them,
and it transports them,
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and it makes them feel hopeful.
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And we know this because color is emotion,
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and when you paint with color,
you're painting with feelings.
you're painting with feelings.
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So think about that emotion, the one I had
you file away in your mental Rolodex.
you file away in your mental Rolodex.
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What color is it?
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Where in your wardrobe does it exist,
and where in your home does it exist?
and where in your home does it exist?
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When we design the show for you,
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we're going to use that color
to tell you how you feel in certain times.
to tell you how you feel in certain times.
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But also, you know this exists
because you put the hero in white,
because you put the hero in white,
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you put the lead character in red,
you put the villain in all black.
you put the villain in all black.
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It's typecasting. You know that.
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So think about it.
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But there's also something else
that happens in the world
that happens in the world
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that helps us move through
the world in a safe way.
the world in a safe way.
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They're called architectural standards.
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They make us not fall down and go boom.
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Doorknobs are all at the same height.
Light switches are all at the same height.
Light switches are all at the same height.
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Toilet bowls are always --
thank God -- at the same height,
thank God -- at the same height,
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because no one ever
misses the toilet bowl.
misses the toilet bowl.
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But seriously,
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what would happen if we started
to tweak those architectural standards
to tweak those architectural standards
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to get what we wanted?
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It reminds me of the stairs
I made for Pee-Wee Herman.
I made for Pee-Wee Herman.
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Pee-Wee Herman is a child,
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and his entire world is created
so that we perceive Pee-Wee as a child.
so that we perceive Pee-Wee as a child.
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The architecture and the furniture
and everything come to life,
and everything come to life,
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but nothing more important
than those stairs.
than those stairs.
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Those stairs are 12 inches high,
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so when Pee-Wee clomps
up and down those stairs,
up and down those stairs,
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he interacts with them like a kid.
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You can't fake that kind of interaction,
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and that's the exact opposite
of what we ask people in opera to do.
of what we ask people in opera to do.
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In opera, we shrink those stairs
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so that our main characters
can glide up and down effortlessly
can glide up and down effortlessly
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without ever breaking their voice.
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You could never put an opera singer
in Pee-Wee's Playhouse,
in Pee-Wee's Playhouse,
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(Sings in Pee-Wee's voice)
or they wouldn't be able to do their job.
or they wouldn't be able to do their job.
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(Laughter)
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But you couldn't put Pee-Wee
in an opera set.
in an opera set.
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He couldn't climb
up and down those stairs.
up and down those stairs.
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There'd be no Pee-Wee.
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He'd be like James Bond slinking
elegantly up and down the stairs.
elegantly up and down the stairs.
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It wouldn't work.
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(Laughter)
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Now think of your set, your home,
what you exist in every single day.
what you exist in every single day.
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If you're anything like me,
the trash can is just too small
the trash can is just too small
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for the amount of takeout
that you buy every night, right?
that you buy every night, right?
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And I find myself jamming
like I'm kneading dough at a pizza place,
like I'm kneading dough at a pizza place,
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I'm jamming it in
because I don't understand.
because I don't understand.
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Or, maybe the light switch in your foyer
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is just stashed behind too many
precariously placed coats,
precariously placed coats,
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and so you don't even go for it.
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Therefore, day after day,
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you wind up walking in and out
of a chasm of darkness.
of a chasm of darkness.
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(Laughter)
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It's true.
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But what would happen if the space
revealed something about yourself
revealed something about yourself
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that you didn't even know?
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Kanye never told me specifically
that he wanted to be God.
that he wanted to be God.
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But --
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(Laughter)
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when we started working together,
we were sending images back and forth,
we were sending images back and forth,
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and he sent me a picture
of the aurora borealis
of the aurora borealis
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with lightning strikes through it.
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And he sent me pictures
from a mountaintop looking down
from a mountaintop looking down
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at a smoke-filled canyon,
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or smoke underneath
the surface of water --
the surface of water --
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like, epic stuff.
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So the first set I designed for him
was a huge light box
was a huge light box
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with the name of his record label.
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He would stand triumphantly
in front of it,
in front of it,
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and it would flash lights
like a lightning bolt.
like a lightning bolt.
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And it was epic, but, like,
starter-kit epic.
starter-kit epic.
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We moved on to a large swath of sky
with a tear down the middle,
with a tear down the middle,
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and through the tear, you could see
deep parts of the cosmos.
deep parts of the cosmos.
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Getting closer.
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We evolved to standing
on top of an obelisk,
on top of an obelisk,
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standing on top of a mountainside,
standing on top of boxes.
standing on top of boxes.
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You know, he was evolving
as an artist through space,
as an artist through space,
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and it was my job to try and keep up.
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When we did Coachella,
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there he was,
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standing in front of an 80-foot-wide
by 40-foot-tall ancient artifact,
by 40-foot-tall ancient artifact,
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literally handed down from God to man.
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He was evolving,
and we were all witness to it.
and we were all witness to it.
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And in his last show,
which I didn't design but I witnessed,
which I didn't design but I witnessed,
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he had self-actualized.
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He was literally standing
on a floating plexiglass deck
on a floating plexiglass deck
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over his adoring fans,
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who had no choice but to praise
to Yeezus up above.
to Yeezus up above.
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(Laughter)
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He had deified himself.
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You can't become Yeezus
in your living room.
in your living room.
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The space told him
who he was about himself,
who he was about himself,
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and then he delivered that to us.
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When I was 20 years old,
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I was driving through a parking lot,
and I saw a puddle.
and I saw a puddle.
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I thought, "I'm going to veer to the left.
No -- I'm going through it."
No -- I'm going through it."
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And I hit the puddle, and -- ffftt! --
all the water underneath my car,
all the water underneath my car,
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and instantly, I have an aha moment.
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Light bulb goes off.
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Everything in the world
needs to be designed.
needs to be designed.
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I mean, I'm sure I was thinking,
"The drainage needs to be designed
"The drainage needs to be designed
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in this parking lot."
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But then I was like, "Everything
in the world needs to be designed."
in the world needs to be designed."
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And it's true: left to its own devices,
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Mother Nature isn't going to carve
an interesting or necessarily helpful path
an interesting or necessarily helpful path
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for you.
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I've spent my career
reaching into people's minds
reaching into people's minds
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and creating worlds out here
that we can all interact with.
that we can all interact with.
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And yeah, you might not get
to do this with fancy collaborators,
to do this with fancy collaborators,
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but I think if you leave here,
those three easy steps --
those three easy steps --
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therapy, who do I want to be,
why do I do the things that I do;
why do I do the things that I do;
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design, create a plan and try
and follow through with it,
and follow through with it,
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what can I do;
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execute it --
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I think if you add that
with a little color theory --
with a little color theory --
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(Laughter)
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some cool design choices and a general
disrespect for architectural standards,
disrespect for architectural standards,
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you can go out
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10:24
and create the world
that you want to live in,
that you want to live in,
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10:27
and I am going to go home
and buy a new trash can.
and buy a new trash can.
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Thank you.
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10:31
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
David Korins - Creative director, set designerDavid Korins develops and designs innovative experiences.
Why you should listen
David Korins is the founder and principal designer of David Korins Design, a multidisciplinary creative firm developing and designing innovative experiences. Korins is currently represented on Broadway with the back-to-back Tony Award-winning hits Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen. David has worked extensively as a production designer in TV, film and award shows. He also won an Emmy Award for Fox's Grease: Live!
David Korins | Speaker | TED.com