Tony Award winner and set/costume designer, Clint Ramos, was tasked with creating a beautiful performance and community space for New Yorkers to enjoy this summer, including the largest outdoor dance floor in New York City.
Ramos is a successful Broadway designer, having won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design in a Play for Eclipsed in 2016, when he became the became the first person of color to win in this category. In addition, Ramos has been nominated for his costume and set designs four times, including most recently for Slave Play. His work has also been seen on film, notably in 2021's Respect, dressing Jennifer Hudson, and he is an educator at NYU Tisch and Fordham University, where until recently he was the head of design and production.
Ramos talked to Live Design about transforming Josie Robertson Plaza into The Oasis for Lincoln Center's "Summer for the City" featuring a 10-foot mirror ball hung above the Lincoln Center Fountain and flanked by 10 foot mirror arcades. Along with lighting designer Andrew Grant, he also created The Speakeasy, an intimate indoor space for stand up comedy, jazz concerts and other performances.
Summer for the City runs from May 14 to August 14 at Lincoln Center.
Live Design: Where did the theme of an oasis come from? What was the thinking behind this choice?
Clint Ramos: The idea of The Oasis came organically from the many discussions that [the creative team] had. What's there right now is actually a result of many drafts but with all the drafts the underlying themes were community, celebration, joy, rest, and recovery after a long period of celebratory drought. The color blue and the idea of reflection lead us to the concept of an oasis.
LD: What was your inspiration for all the reflective surfaces?
CR: For me, it evokes a mirage in the desert or a pool.
LD: Was there a particular artwork or piece of research that inspired this for you?
CR: I was inspired by the idea of reflection and multiplicity. I have been fascinated with mirrors. In Slave Play, my last show on Broadway, I used it to reflect the audience onto itself. Here, I used it to multiple people and because there are mirrors that face each other, it creates an infinity effect. Really, what I wanted to focus on, was how we create a antidote to the hundreds of thousands of lives we lost during the pandemic by multiplying and reflecting the people. In some way we repopulate the city.
LD: Where did you find a 10' mirror ball?
CR: It is custom made by my regular collaborator, Peter Falco at Global Scenic.
LD: Can you talk a little bit about the speakeasy on Jaffe Drive – what was your inspiration here?
CR: The speakeasy is almost a baby of the larger space. We use mirror materials again to make the space appear more spacious. This space is about community and intimacy where the larger space is about the idea of population. This was about being in an intimate space and celebrating.
LD: What was the most challenging part of this project?
I think the most challenging thing was the engineering because we are outside so the Lincoln Center plaza becomes a wind tunnel at times. Figuring out how we can have verticals, so we don't damage the existing structures, and creating a space that will hold 1,300 people. Another challenge was making the space feel open but also enclosed. Lastly, the floor needed to be danceable and yet be outdoors, so finding the right substrate was crucial.
LD: What was your favorite part about this project?
CR: I think my favorite part was knowing what we were all working towards was a gift to NYC and that every single program was free. I was very inspired by the idea of community, real equity, and access.