Q&A with set designer Brandon Pietras

Pop Dies in Vegas, sprung from the mind (yes, Zeus-style, as we imagine it to have happened) of playwright W.M. Akers, is a never-ending cycle of hijinks revolving around the desperation of two men fallen from the spotlight.  Grappling hooks, spray paint, zip lines, blood and a bevy of weapons litter the crime scene, set in a posh Las Vegas hotel.  Set designer Brandon Pietras, shares his thoughts on the show:

Squeaky Bicycle:  What was the first thought that came to mind after reading Pop Dies in Vegas?

Brandon Pietras:  “Oh man, not another show with blood!”

SB:          What did you find the most challenging about the project?

BP:         So far, it's been finding an affordable way to spray-paint and blood-proof the set.  The vision for the design came very quickly initially, but it's taken a lot of tweaking and fine tuning.  Also, citing everything we need efficiently in the venue, which is quite small!

SB:          What kind of research happened for this show?

BP:         I looked through a ton of 1970's interior design pictures and furniture pictures to get an idea for the aesthetic, then we narrowed it down to a few images we liked the best.  From there, I picked out color swatches to inform the design, and used them to create the digital sketches for the set.

SB:          Favorite teen heartthrob (current or from your teen years)?

BP:         Oof, teen heartthrob? I don't know if I was ever the "heartthrob" type but waaay back in the day I remember thinking Lindsay Lohan was cute in the Parent Trap, but I wasn't a teen then.  I always listened to really old music from the 60's and 70's so I wasn't really paying attention to the Mistys of my day :)

SB:          Did you have a super pop playlist to listen to for inspiration?

BP:         (laughs)No, I didn't.  It's hard enough to escape from Justin Bieber and One Direction on my commute - I didn't have to go out of my way to make a playlist!

Brandon Pietras graduated from Fordham University in 2012 with a degree in Pre-Architecture. While at Fordham, he set designed for Bridget Carpenter's The Death of the Father of Psycoanalysis (& Anna), and a student written piece Front Porch Play by Sean-Patrick Monahan. Pop Dies in Vegas is his first project with Squeaky Bicycle Productions.