While the category can technically be called outstanding production design for a variety or reality series, it’s just a reality show actually landed a nomination This year: “Rupaul’s Drag Race.”
Going towards “The Daily Show”, “Last week tonight with John Oliver,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” And “Saturday Night Live” is Season 17 “Drag Race” episode “RDR LIVE” -which just happened to be an improvis -comedy challenge/”SNL” broadcast.
“There is one aspect that is just very over-the-top, very InUendo, a lot
Humor that is excessive. I think the authors have a lot of fun with it, ”production designer Jen Chu told Thewrap to parody NBC late-night-staple.” There are not many (‘Drag Race’) section where you can make four or five sets within one section. Usually it is just a standalone set, so as a designer it is fun to get a script that has many components. We have to make some heavy interiors, we have to do some landscape construction and we have to turn it around really quickly. “
How fast? “Sometimes they are who,” how much turnover time do you need? Thirty minutes? Can you do it in five? “, CHU said.” It’s not quite as fast as “Saturday night live.” But even if we are not on live, we still always challenge ourselves to make the shooting day similar to live -TV. “
The nominated section contained four different sets. Except
Tickled pink paths on mainstage, where beaverologist was podcast, was
Emergency room (with “hacks” “Paul W. Downs as a hospital doctor),
Neanderthal Town Hall and Queen News Network, an obvious wink to
“SNL’s” full update. The latter is a perfect example of how “Drag Race”
allows chu to Poke Loving Fun on pop culture through the draw lens.
“I love that it is loose and a little improvised. And I like that it is a contemporary attitude to refer to the pop culture itself, which is really fun,” she said.
“Sometimes I think fans can be even more in line with the references
Than I am, because I am constantly expanding my front reference prescription, “added Chu.” There are so many layers to draw references, and they go back like that
Many decades – just very, very unclear, old but iconic moments in pop culture. “
As a child of immigrants she was the first person in her family to look at a lot
American TV. “I have a very deep education and studied the design to a large extent,
But I have not necessarily studied sketch comedy as much. It’s my job to just keep
up with what is considered iconic or important or noticeable within
Culture, and it is very broad. “
CHU came to “Drag Race” three seasons ago after a career that included reality shows “Project Runway” and “Real Life: The Musical.” She feels lucky that she joined the show at a time when it reworked her mainstage. “They had
To get some new equipment, which gave us the opportunity to redo it. We knew
As screens would give us a little more flexibility, so I had to do some beautiful
Big facelifts with them. “
However, the biggest change for season 17 came in the form of Badonka
Dunk container. For this twist, two eliminated queens could remain
The competition for the randomly drew a correct lever that dropped Rupauls
Best friend, Michelle Visage, in a tank with lukewarm water.
“There happened to be a thunk tank that was quite famous on Nickelodeon and also on the” Ellen “show. We were like,” Ok, how can we take that frame and do it Draggy? “So we rented the device and made it our own by giving it a bit of an illuminated prosecenium and what is not.
Expectations and it was one of our favorite parts of the season. “
“That’s why I love working in LA,” Chu noted. “If you are,” I need a thump
tank that may contain 65,000 liters of water and it must be really deep and
strong and you have to be able to heat the water, ‘You can just call around and
someone is like, “I have a friend who has a friend who has a friend who has a
friend who has that idea. ‘It’s just part of the challenge. “
“Of course, in moves, there is so much improvised and so much creativity and so much to turn one thing into another thing, so we definitely do it behind the scenes as much as they do it in front of the camera,” she concluded.
This story first ran down to the Wire Comedy issue for Thewrap’s Awards Magazine. Read more from Down to the thread comedy question here.
