Dane Laffrey is an American
scenic designer best known for
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows ''
Once on This Island
''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...
'' (2017), ''
Spring Awakening'' (2015), and ''
Fool for Love'' (2015), and
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
shows ''The Christians'' (2015), ''Cloud Nine'' (2015), and ''Rancho Viejo (2016).''
Early life and education
Laffrey was born in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. He attended boarding school at
Interlochen Arts Academy
Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City.
...
for his junior and senior years of high school. In 2002, he relocated to
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
to study design at the
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...
. He graduated in 2004.
Career
Laffrey first served as scenic designer and costume designer on Darlinghurst Theatre Company's production of ''Some Explicit Polaroids'' and
Griffin Theatre Company's production of ''The Cold Child'' in 2006 in Sydney, Australia. He was nominated for a
Sydney Theatre Award for Best Set Design for ''Some Explicit Polaroids'' that same year. The following year, he again served in both roles for the production of ''The Colour of Panic'' at
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
in Sydney, Australia and Det Apne Teater in
Oslo, Norway
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
.
In 2007, he relocated to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
where he began designing sets, costumes, and one time-lighting for multiple
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
,
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...
, and regional productions. Notable Off-Broadway productions include
Lucas Hnath's ''The Christians'', Dan LeFranc's ''Rancho Viejo'', and
Caryl Churchill's ''Cloud Nine''. He was nominated for four
American Theatre Wing Hewes Design Awards for Off-Broadway productions between 2010 and 2017.
In 2015, he served as the set designer for
Manhattan Theatre Club's production of ''
Fool for Love'' at The Friedman Theatre on Broadway and as both set designer and costume designer for
Deaf West Theatre's production of
Spring Awakening, performed in
American Sign Language
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...
, at
The Brooks Atkinson Theatre
The Lena Horne Theatre (previously the Mansfield Theatre and the Brooks Atkinson Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 256 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1926, it was designed by Herbert ...
on Broadway. In 2017, he served as set designer for
Circle in the Square's production of ''
Once On This Island
''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...
'' on Broadway. Laffrey and
Michael Arden
Michael Jerrod Moore (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as Michael Arden, is an American actor, singer, musician, and theatre director.
Early life
Growing up in Midland, Texas, he was active in the Pickwick Players, Midland Community ...
, the show's director, took a research trip he took to Haiti which completely transformed his approach to designing the set for the production. Laffrey stated:
"You cannot begin to describe the effect that trip had on me as a person but also in feeling equipped to responsibly bring this work to Broadway in 2017 in a way that was true to the piece and what it portrays ... Hurricane Maria
Hurricane Maria was a deadly Saffir–Simpson scale#Category 5, Category 5 Tropical cyclone, hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the wo ...
happened in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
and the storms that affected those tiny little islands in the Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
. We continued to collect and pull those images because it felt like ‘Island’ is ultimately dealing with, at its core, how you survive in the face of something like that and the restorative power of storytelling. You feel that connection of the human spirit threaded through all these places."
His design for ''
Once On This Island
''Once on This Island'' is a coming-of-age one-act stage musical with a book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty. It is based on the 1985 novel ''My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl'' by Rosa Guy, a Caribbean-set retelling ...
'' received widespread positive critical acclaim with multiple media outlets describing it as "a fractured paradisiac vision", "lush
ndimmersive", "evocative", "ambitious", and "an aesthetic experience unlike anything else on Broadway."
In 2017, Laffrey was awarded the
Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Set and Costume Design.
Laffrey has served as an advisor for
Lincoln Center Theatre's LCT3 and as a guest designer at
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music (often abbreviated to YSM) is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a join ...
, the
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
,
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
,
Interlochen Arts Academy
Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City.
...
,
Western Sydney University
Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network ...
, and the
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...
.
Productions
Broadway productions
Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions
Regional productions
International productions
Television productions
Awards and nominations
In 2017, Laffrey was awarded the
Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Set and Costume Design.
In 2006, he was nominated for a
Sydney Theatre Award for Best Set Design for ''Some Explicit Polaroids'' (2006). In 2010, he was nominated for a
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. In the 2009 ceremony, the category was sepa ...
for ''
The Boys in the Band'' (2010). In 2015, he was nominated for an
Ovation Award for Best Scenic Design (Large Theatre) for ''
Spring Awakening''.
He also has received multiple nominations for the
American Theatre Wing Hewes Design Award, including for ''
The Boys in the Band'' (2010), ''The Patsy'' (2012), ''
The Maids
''The Maids'' (french: Les Bonnes, links=no) is a 1947 play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed.
The pla ...
'' (2012), ''
I Remember Mama'' (2014), and ''Rancho Viejo'' (2017).
References
External links
Dane Laffrey Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laffrey, Dane
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Theatre designers
American scenic designers
American set designers
American costume designers
American lighting designers
Broadway set designers
Obie Award recipients
National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni
Interlochen Center for the Arts alumni