Scene Shift: U.S. Set Designers in Conversation

Do you know which EMOTION we’re creating? Comment your best guess 👇 Each EMOTION has it’s own department at the Hospital of Emotions. Hint: Jellyfish arrive to greet us at the hospital with their ethereal softness and remarkable ability to endure. One species in particular, the Siphonophorae, beckons… #hospitalofemotions #losangeles #immersiveart

The scene shift crew is descending upon the hospital bit by bit! Our compassion crew consists of artists, lighting designers, costume designers and prop and puppet makers! We are so excited to welcome the talents of Hannah Burnham, Jack Pullman, Johnny Garofalo, Claire Fraser, Rowan Auckland, and Lou Hartmann! #hospitalofemotions #losangelesart #immersiveart

SCENE SHIFT COLLECTIVE is one of 70 artists to take over HOSPITAL OF EMOTIONS, opening later this month! #hospitalofemotions #losangelesart #immersiveart

The ward’s intake protocol returns to the Compassion Department as we authorize the opening of Room 62. Introducing Scene Shift (@scene.shift ), an evolving design collective founded by set designers Maureen Weiss and Sibyl Wickersheimer. After curating the definitive book on U.S. set design through conversations with over 30 industry leaders, they launched a movement that spans exhibitions, podcasts, and multidisciplinary scenography. For the Hospital of Emotions, Scene Shift is performing a collaborative intervention that expands the traditional approach to environmental design. By growing specialized teams for every project, they create spaces where makers of all disciplines can connect. Their installation serves as a physical blueprint for a more compassionate world, proving that through shared creative environments, we can truly thrive. Case Study No. 013 Artist: Scene Shift (@scene.shift ) Department: Compassion #HospitalOfEmotions #LosAngelesEvents #ThingsToDoInLA #ImmersiveArt #PopUpExhibition

SCENE SHIFT COLLECTIVE is proud to be a part of the creative team behind O: A RHAPSODY IN DIVORCE at @outsideinthtr ABOUT THE PRODUCTION: What happens when the life you built suddenly collapses? A new play about survival, reinvention, and becoming your own home by @jamibrandli Jami Brandli and directed by @jessessa Jessica Hanna. Reimagining The Odyssey through a modern lens, O: A Rhapsody in Divorce follows O, a successful neurobiologist in her 40s whose world is turned upside down when her husband asks for a separation, but refuses to leave their home. Displaced and untethered, O embarks on a couch-hopping journey that blends memory, science, and surreal theatricality. She discovers unconventional and magical ways to reassemble the blown-up pieces of her life as she struggles to navigate her way back toward a “new home.” Funny, bold, and emotionally grounded, O: A Rhapsody in Divorce explores heartbreak as a turning point rather than an ending. As timelines blur and inner voices emerge, O, a neurobiologist attempts to make sense of her unraveling through the science of love and loss. The play weaves in the neurobiology of heartbreak, from dopamine-driven reward systems to the brain’s response to emotional separation, revealing how our bodies experience lost love as both psychological and biological upheaval. As O moves from couch to couch and memory to memory, she navigates the knottiness of charting a course toward a new home and begins to piece together a life defined not by loss, but by what comes next. Supported by @biglittletheaterco Director Driven Production Grant.

We’re thrilled to announce that SCENE SHIFT COLLECTIVE will present an immersive art installation at Hospital of Emotions Exhibition in Los Angeles! “For a limited time, a building within the St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus in Los Angeles is transformed into a living museum of emotions. 70 artists from diverse creative fields take over a hospital and transforming it into an immersive artworks exploring the full spectrum of human emotion. At Hospital of Emotions, each emotion becomes its own hospital department. From joy and love to fear, anger, hope, sadness, gratitude and resilience. Presented by the curatorial and creative team of House of Art and Dreams, together with ROYVA and St. Vincent Behavioral Health Campus.” #hospitalofemotions #losangeles #immersiveart

❔What feels right for you about doing theatre design? Afsoon @afsoon_pajoufar answers a student’s question in our latest episode of Scene Shift: The Podcast. Listen where you get your podcasts.

In this episode of Scene Shift: The Podcast, New York based set designer Afsoon Pajoufar @afsoon_pajoufar reflects on working across the US and Europe, comparing cultural approaches to risk, resources, and sustainability in theatre making. The conversation moves through what it means to be brave and bold as a designer, standing behind strong conceptual choices, embracing limitation, and allowing emotion to leave a visible trace in the work. Afsoon also speaks candidly about material responsibility, reuse, and whether theatre is “dying” or could simply shift into new, more intentional forms of making. Music by Claire McKeown @clairemckeownmusician “Sarabande in D minor” Listen and watch wherever you podcast

Congratulations to @afsoon_pajoufar on your Obie Award for Set Design of “Cold War Choir Practice” directed by @knudadams at Clubbed Thumb | Page 73 @clubbedthumb and “Five Models in Ruins, 1981” directed by Morgan Green at Lincoln Center Theater @lctheater . 1 - photo by Maria Baranova 2 - photo by Marc J. Franklin

The hidden role of a lighting designer… @pablosdesign talks about his strategy to keep the mood during tech. Episode out now with more discussions about process, collaboration, and lessons as a lighting designer. LISTEN / WATCH “Good Doesn’t Always Mean Better with Lighting Designer Pablo Santiago” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Youtube (Comment below or check @scene.shift profile for link)

Sometimes the moment needs to look ugly… Pablo Santiago, lighting designer and fellow collaborator, joins us for a 2 for 1 episode of SCENE SHIFT: THE PODCAST. Out on Jan 1! @pablosdesign

Venturing through the monuments exhibit at MOCA Geffen Contemporary was a thrill in itself, but stumbling into Abigail’s @victoriouspurple amazing immersive installation which takes up the entire second floor was jaw-dropping. I could just imagine her distilling each object into position and giving it the utmost care with equal parts confidence and abandon. Both of my kids said it was their favorite ❤️