{"id":676674,"date":"2025-06-22T08:55:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T05:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/rupauls-drag-race-gets-its-first-main-stage-makeover-in-16-seasons\/"},"modified":"2025-06-22T08:55:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T05:55:40","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-gets-its-first-main-stage-makeover-in-16-seasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rupauls-drag-race-gets-its-first-main-stage-makeover-in-16-seasons\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race\u2019 Gets its First Main Stage Makeover in 16 Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tStepping into the world of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em> is anything but ordinary, so imagine having to design that world from the ground up.<\/p>\n

\n\tThough production designer Jen Chu didn\u2019t draft the look of Drag Race<\/em> from its dawn in 2009, she did have the tall order of giving the show\u2019s set a much-needed revamp after 16 seasons of the same iconic main stage. And, yes, \u201ciconic\u201d is the word to describe the famed set of the MTV reality competition, defined by that main stage where hundreds of queens have sashayed, shantayed and lip-synced their way to drag royalty. The show won four consecutive Emmys for outstanding reality competition program between 2018 and 2021, with RuPaul nabbing the win for outstanding host for a reality or competition program eight years in a row, from 2016 to 2023.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith that history of acclaim, Chu tells THR<\/em> she felt \u201ca good amount of pressure\u201d to get the redesign just right.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was a bit of a process getting everybody comfortable with the idea of a new set,\u201d says Chu. \u201cWe haven\u2019t had a completely new main stage ever, really. It was a big deal for us. \u2026 It never feels like there\u2019s a great time to leave behind something that works.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the Drag Race<\/em> stage hadn\u2019t lost its looks, it lacked functionality. \u201cWe had to update our stage out of necessity,\u201d explains Chu. \u201cSome of the equipment became obsolete, and it became clear that it was time to move\u00a0forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs RuPaul Charles would say, \u201cYou ain\u2019t gotta reinvent the wheel\u201d \u2014 and that wasn\u2019t what Chu was looking to do with season 17\u2019s main stage. Instead, she \u201cpulled inspiration from within\u201d the show to pay homage to its herstory. \u201cThat\u2019s actually all anybody does on Drag Race<\/em> \u2014 pay homage to something,\u201d says Chu. \u201cI was thinking about how to create a set that can feel historic or nostalgic, because this show is always referencing the past. They\u2019re always referencing classic actors, classic films, and I wanted a stage that did not necessarily feel flung into the future. I moved in the direction of creating a stage that has a feeling of nostalgia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tChu\u2019s initial inspiration for the redesign was a building, rich in art deco details, on Hollywood Boulevard owned by Drag Race<\/em>\u2018s production company, World of Wonder. Chu settled on mimicking the building\u2019s structure, which mirrored Drag Race<\/em>\u2018s regal yet campy ambience.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI started thinking about how art deco buildings resemble costumes \u2014 they have a lot of ornate detailing and very symmetrical, interesting metalwork,\u201d Chu explains. \u201cI started looking at [World of Wonder\u2019s] building as a building that wears a crown, and I began to design a stage that was wearing a crown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTo execute the remodel, Drag Race<\/em> enlisted the help of FTB Design, a Los Angeles-based scenery shop that Chu says came to the table with a lot of \u201cinteresting, clever solutions\u201d to issues that Drag Race<\/em> was running into with the prior set, including ease of assembly (and\u00a0disassembly).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOne thing I\u2019ve learned as a designer is putting up a set that\u2019s shot once is easy \u2014 putting up a set that needs to come apart and go together again and again actually makes the workload 50 to 100 times more complicated,\u201d\u00a0she says.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tConstruction on the stage, which includes screen panels at the back.<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of MTV<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tPlus, there were the financial considerations. \u201cI think sometimes people are surprised, but Drag Race<\/em> is not a super-high-budget show,\u201d Chu admits. \u201cThe level of success that they\u2019ve achieved is not equivalent to the budget that they have to pour into design all the time, and I\u2019m happ<\/a>y to work within those types of parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne standout element of the new set is the inclusion of screen panels at the back of the stage. Chu says that the screens \u201copened up a lot of possibilities\u201d for main stage creative imagery for herself and Gus Dominguez, Drag Race<\/em>\u2018s lighting designer and Chu\u2019s key collaborator in the redesign.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOnce the screens came into play, it became a much more layered conversation,\u201d she explains. \u201cScreen content can be purchased, designed custom, static, it can move. \u2026 We\u2019re always trying to figure out how to create a cohesive look but not take too much attention away from the queens.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor a show like this, it\u2019s a lot of stage look changes and screen activity,\u201d she continues, noting that there can be 12 to 14 contestants onstage at a time. \u201cA big part of my responsibilities last year with season 17 \u2014 the first year we had the screens \u2014 was keeping track of the different looks. \u2026 There was a massive spreadsheet going around just trying to keep track of all the looks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother notable difference was a new, shiny black floor that proved to be a drawback for contestants with an all-black wardrobe, who found themselves blending into the stage.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur set often looks like a housing for lighting, so what you\u2019re really seeing is a lot of lighting, screen content and color. You\u2019re not actually seeing the scenery that much,\u201d Chu says, adding that the specific technical parameters and lack of prepared lighting created the issue.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis year [with season 18], the lighting department has added lights, so if you\u2019re wearing black against the black background, the lights will hit your shoulders from the back, so it\u2019ll create more shape and outline around\u201d the contestants, Chu says.<\/p>\n

\n\tTo quote RuPaul once more, \u201cNew friends silver, old friends gold.\u201d It appears Drag Race<\/em> has found a happy silver-gold medium with its new main stage, boosted by the team of creatives that have always backed the cultural phenomenon that is RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was very broadly collaborative because so many people on the show, their careers have been rooted in this show for decades,\u201d says Chu. \u201cI just wanted to make sure that everybody felt at home here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stepping into the world of RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race is anything but ordinary, so imagine having to design that world from the ground up. Though production designer Jen Chu didn\u2019t draft the look of Drag Race from its dawn in 2009, she did have the tall order of giving the show\u2019s set a much-needed revamp after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-676674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}