Mio Infante Talks Designing Costumes & Sets for CHARLIE BROWN, LITTLE MERMAID & More

Manila, Philippines, February 26, 2012 – Actor turned designer Mio Infante has both or either designed scenography and costumes of some of the biggest and arguably the best children-centric musical Theater Productions of the past 11 years: Trumpets' Little Mermaid (2001) and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (2002); and Atlantis Productions' Disney's Beauty and the Beast (2005) were some of the magical worlds he has created on stage.

Although Infante's scenography and costumes for 9 Works Theatrical's production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, a musical based on the popular comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz, are less of a spectacle compared to Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast et al., they still don't fail to excite and stimulate the audience's imagination of a world that's full of color and happiness.

In his own words, Infante takes BroadwayWorld.com readers to his fond childhood memories and to his rediscovery of the basic elements of stage design as he works on his latest assignment, You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown:

Childhood Memories

"'Happiness is five different crayons!' This is a line from the Broadway musical You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown – a line that hits close to home.

As a child, happiness was not just five different crayons – but 96! I had a box of Crayola crayons with 96 colors including colors I'd never heard of before like 'periwinkle' and 'chartreuse.' I was truly fascinated that these crayons provided hours of endless fun! And, I'm sure that my current career had its beginnings from that one box of crayons.

Color and Art

As I worked, I found designing for children's productions more challenging than designing for the more adult-oriented shows.

Like all adults, I had forgotten that kids see the world for what it is – pure, simple, candid, without bias or malice. I had to see the world through a child's eyes again, and needed to reconnect with and tap the child in me.  It also meant going back to the basics of design –  line, form, mass, value, and color.

I took my cue from comic books and cartoons. They work for kids because of the strong bold strokes; clear outlines; distinct of shapes and forms; and primary and secondary colors.

This cue was especially helpful for the current production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown by 9 Works Theatrical. Since the musical is based on the comic strip by Charles Schulz, it's pretty much like watching a moving, talking, singing comic strip. So I designed a set that was predominantly bright reds, yellows, and blues complemented with oranges, violets, and greens.  I also made the set pieces and hand props larger than life so the adult actors lookEd Smaller and their costumes were loose almost shapeless that made their bodies appear more childlike.

This use of scale and color plus some touches of child-like whimsy also worked well for my designs for Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and Trumpets' N.O.A.H. and Little Mermaid: these basic elements, combined with exaggerated proportions and puppetry techniques, had brought crockery and kitchen utensils to life; had created an ark filled with Mexican piñata-inspired zoo animals; and had created an undersea world filled with red and yellow giant octopuses, and shoals of fish in every color.

Focus

It was color and a pervading color scheme that tied the varied elements in each of these shows – Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid et al. – into a cohesive whole. Color also directed the audience's attention to where it needed to focus on.

Oliver is about to earn his M.S. degree in public relations and corporate communication from New York University while serving as regional editor for BroadwayWorld.com. Over the past 18 years, Oliver has been handling public relations and corporate communication for numerous brands (including Pepsi), Broadway shows, Broadway stars, non-profit organizations, and mainstream celebrities. He also teaches public relations at De La Salle University-Manila. Follow Oliver on Twitter: @OliverOliveros

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