Well, technical director means something different in almost every opera company in America. In our opera company, it is the person who is responsible to see that the physical production and scenery gets from concept to reality and works on the stage. I am the liaison between the director, the designer, and the opera company when it comes to how to create what it is that they want to create, and the important part of the job is to understand exactly what it is they want. For example, we have a model that is 1/24 the size of the actual piece. We have to understand how it is going to be used and figure out how to do a technical design. Unfortunately, we have to fit it into the budget, which is very difficult. So, I have to ask the designers what their priorities are, and we can sometimes save money by doing a certain design in a different way. And sometimes they have to decide what they might want to cut from the production. I am also the liaison between all of the various departments. We have scenics and carpenters at the scene shop, and we also have four different departments on stage: carpenters, props, electricians, and sound. My job is to see that everybody understands the entire production.

The set is obviously meant to have certain elements, which are reminiscent of the actual physical pieces at the sight, but not exactly. It's not realism. The set has to multi-task. For example, when the large pieces with the cross braces are down low, they are a fence. When they are up high, they are rafters in a lab. Of course the design of the fences, the tower that the bomb is attached to and the sticks are all of a piece that doesn't look exactly like the original. Adrianne Lobel was very concerned that as much as possible we get the feeling that we are in the desert, which meant a very wide, sparse set. Since you can't increase the width beyond the theater, we raised the floor and lowered the ceilings so that we got it as elongated as possible. Another example of something that is reminiscent, but is not the real thing is the map in the back. They can raise and lower it to indicate various places. The design of the floor itself she actually got from a photograph of the desert where there were tracks all over it. It is also reminiscent of Indian sand paintings.

I would hope that the audience does not pay too much attention to the set because when you listen to the words of Peter Sellars and listen to the music, the opera has very little to do with the set. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is one of the reasons why everything is so sparse. It's just a hint. If people are too intent on looking at the set, they are missing the whole point. It's not like a traditional opera or costume production where you just enjoy looking at all of the beautiful stuff. It's about the history and the music, not the set.

It is all very exciting, especially working with Peter Sellars. I've worked with him before, but never on a premiere production, and he is sort of infectious--he'll get you all riled up because he's riled up. It's going to be one of those productions, like Dead Man Walking for me, which is the kind of production that you will never forget. And a lot of that is the subject matter, of course, and the timeliness of it when our president wants to start up a nuclear program again, and we just had the anniversary of Hiroshima. The opera certainly fulfills Pamela Rosenberg's desire to have opera about life. That to me is the most exciting part of the opera. Sometimes productions really stand out, and for me this is one of them.