11/14/16, 4:45 PMTechnical Designer Mike Riccio Takes Us Behind the Scenes of His Fasc…Projects, from 'PsychoBarn' to Broadway - June 14, 2016 - NewYork.com

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Technical Designer Mike Riccio Takes UsBehind the Scenes of His Fascinating Projects,from ‘PsychoBarn’ to BroadwayWho creates those elaborate Broadway and TV sets? At Showman Fabricators,designer Mike Riccio crafts everything from stage sets to museum installations

June 14, 2016, Craigh Barboza4 Share Tweet

Mike Riccio has spent the last 16 years at Showman Fabricators coming up with creative solutions tothe most complex set design problems.

Mike Riccio

As the head of design and engineering, he has a hand in roughly 90% of the company’s projects, whichhave included everything from elaborate Broadway and television sets to fashion product rollouts andthe latest redesign of the White House press briefing room. “We’re a specialty fabricator so we work ina range of industries,” says Riccio, who conducts a design-for-manufacturability analysis, or DFM, forevery job. “My role here is to help bring our clients’ visions to life in a very buildable manner. Onbudget and on time, of course.”

On a typical day, the New Jersey native is responsible for “babysitting” up to 20 projects in variousstages of development, but there are days when he will have 30. It helps that he is the nurturing type. Alarge part of his job consists of supervising a group of engineers who work on sophisticated computerprograms and run the bulky, high-tech machinery that dot Showman’s cavernous factory in LongIsland City, Queens. These skilled workers will frequently turn to him for direction when they hit animpasse in the design process and need to devise a new approach, or at least a feasible work-around.

Riccio, who earned a degree in fine arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art, got his start in1997 when he answered a call from an old college buddy seeking his help as a sculptor on a project forthe American Museum of Natural History. (Riccio’s wife now works there in the exhibitionsdepartment, where she recently built the full-scale model of a Yutyranus Hauli dinosaur for a currentshow.) He’s been busy ever since. He worked as a model maker and props artist on Madison Avenue, a

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11/14/16, 4:45 PMTechnical Designer Mike Riccio Takes Us Behind the Scenes of His Fasc…Projects, from 'PsychoBarn' to Broadway - June 14, 2016 - NewYork.com

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scenic painter and set builder for smaller fabrication shops and a graphic artist at a silkscreen plant,before joining Showman on a full-time basis in 2000.

From the beginning, he’s been an eager collaborator. He also clearly relishes the creative process. He’sparticularly proud of Transitional Object (PsychoBarn), a stage-like installation that opened last monthon the roof garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Riccio worked closely on the design with theinstallation’s artist, British sculptor Cornelia Parker, and developed the structural engineering plan forthe two-sided façade, which resembles the Victorian mansion that belonged to the Bates family inAlfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The piece has drawn both raves and crowds.

There are perks, too. Riccio sometimes scores invites to museum openings and tickets to Broadwayshows he’s worked on, or signed catalogs and other gifts. But Riccio says the real reward is thesatisfaction he gets from working on an incredibly difficult project. “You collaborate with all thesetalented people, artists and designers, and it becomes a real partnership,” he says.

‘PsychoBarn’ on the Met Rooftop (Photo: Alex Fradkin)

What are your current projects?We have a project for Disneyland Paris – a new “theatrical experience” for their theme park, featuringvignettes from Disney films – that’s getting buttoned up. We’re working on something for HollandAmerica cruise line, as well as a few upcoming events around the New York area, plus we’re buildinga large television studio for Fox that has an elevator.

Take us through the steps of a typical project.OK, so a client who has an idea for a project will present that idea to the account executive who willthen create a document that breaks down the project as we understand it. The project details aresubmitted back to the client and a dialogue begins. There are usually two or three passes beforeeveryone agrees and we get awarded the job. From that point, we have a kick-off meeting, where theprocess is distilled down to a sheet of paper. We look at how much engineering we have to do. Fromthere, we decide the significant dates and how much time the [shop] floor is going to need to actuallyfabricate something. Then we dig in to do the work.

What happens next?We jump into the software to develop primitive 3D models of things that will be passed off to the leadcarpenter and project manager who review it with the technical designer. Then we break down each ofthe objects into parts that will go to the CNC department or parts that have to get bent or parts thathave to be subcontracted out. We dimension everything.

What does CNC stand for?CNC is an acronym for Computer Numeric Control. A CNC Router is a large tool governed bycomputer code that dictates machine movement. It allows us to cut very complicated shapes from awide range of materials. It cuts the same way a conventional handheld router would, except it’smoving at about 1,200 inches per minute.

Do you have a lot of advance technology on the floor?We do and one of the things I love about the job is you can rely on a machine to sort of push an ideaforward. It’s one of the things Showman does particularly well. We stay informed of manufacturingprocesses that are not necessarily part of our industry.

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11/14/16, 4:45 PMTechnical Designer Mike Riccio Takes Us Behind the Scenes of His Fasc…Projects, from 'PsychoBarn' to Broadway - June 14, 2016 - NewYork.com

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What are some of the traditional and newer machine tools you have at your disposal?We use all manner of traditional woodworking hand tools and machinery, from chisels and blockplanes to table saws and lathes. On the newer side of things, we have migrated almost all of thetraditional work associated with layout from the carpenters to the engineers. We replaced tapemeasures and trammel points with state-of-the-art CAD/CAM software. We also have a Water Jet thatcuts through metals with a focused high-pressure beam of water mixed with garnet abrasive, and, mostrecently, we purchased a CNC Hydraulic Air Bender. This is a machine that allows us to literally foldplate steel and aluminum into shapes. It reminds me of those old coloring books when I could cut outcastles, fold up the corners on them and make an object. Getting to do that on a very large scale with abig piece of machinery is really exciting.

Behind-the-scenes during one of Riccio’s set builds

When did you first get interested in specialty fabrication?I always liked making things as a kid. I was a bit of a shut-in, painting and drawing, so I went tocollege to study fine arts. I wanted to be an artist full-time. While in school, I ended up getting a work-study job at the campus woodshop. That gave me the chance to work with lots of people, which led tome being a teaching assistant. I then got invited to critique classes and graduate student work. I thinkbeing around the academic world for a while like that is what really made me want to work in a placewhere I could continue to help people, either by making or visualizing things.

When you were starting out, did anyone give you a good piece of advice that you often thinkback to?I had a college professor, we’re still great friends, and he told me that making art was not just aboutworking away in your studio, thinking about new ways to express yourself through objects andpaintings; it was also learning that creativity is not separate from anything you do in life – that you hadto live your life artfully. The approach I take to different challenges, whether they’re at work or athome, is informed by this advice. I look at all of the choices and tasks, and try to elevate as many ofthem as I can beyond the mundane, so that maybe I can find new ideas or solutions that can guide mynext project.

Your resume says you have experience in a broad range of creative industries. Was that goodtraining for your current job?Yes, definitely. The best thing about having that diversity of experience is you get exposed to a varietyof situations and approaches [that test your abilities]. I think, more than anything else, I enjoy solvingproblems and helping people find ways to express their ideas.

And how cool is it to turn on the TV or walk into a museum and see your work?It’s incredibly satisfying… most of the time. Sometimes the pain of the process has a way ofovertaking any joy you get out of actually witnessing the end result. And a lot of the television studiowork is architectural. It’s hard to appreciate the amount of decision-making or effort that went intoevery single choice in the few seconds you see on TV. But the museum work is different; so is theBroadway work where people are going to see the spectacle of the show. [The sets] help push the storyforward and for the actors it’s part of their working environment. I mean, to me that is incrediblyinteresting and satisfying.

Over the years, you have done an extensive amount of theater work.I have a lot of Broadway experience, mainly as a technical designer. But I’ve also had a fewopportunities to fabricate scenery as a carpenter and set artist.

What kinds of mistakes did you make early on that taught you an important lesson?On my first Broadway show I remember painting myself into a corner and having to claw my way out.Also, I was working as a draftsman on Morning’s at Seven and I had to draw the roof units on a pair ofmirrored Victorian houses. These were tricky dormers and gables with deep eaves that wereforeshortened. I barely knew the software (AutoCAD) and certainly had not designed in that programin 3D. After working many days on the project, I realized I made a critical error. I inaccuratelymodeled all the square steel elements. Swallowing my pride, I owned up to my mistake and presenteda number of solutions. It was one of the most valuable experiences I can recall. My foreman, Bobby

11/14/16, 4:45 PMTechnical Designer Mike Riccio Takes Us Behind the Scenes of His Fasc…Projects, from 'PsychoBarn' to Broadway - June 14, 2016 - NewYork.com

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Hutch, an industry legend and known hard ass, hazed me but in the end he gave me time to fix theissue. He taught me a valuable lesson in leadership. He could have thrown me to the wolves.Instead, he managed around my problem. In the end, the set looked gorgeous and I was proud of mycontribution, despite that big helping of humble pie, and because of that I don’t sweat mistakes fromthe who-made-them-perspective; I look at it from the position of, “OK, so that happened. How can weget through this quickly?”

Ariel (Sierra Boggess) surrenders her voice to Ursula (Sherie Rene Scott) in ‘The Little Mermaid’ onBroadway

Of the productions you’ve worked on, what’s the highlight?It’s a show that’s no longer open but we had a great time doing it: Disney’s The Little Mermaid. I don’tthink it was well received critically. Nonetheless, it was an exciting, technically elaborate production. Ihad just started as a department head and at the time we had little-to-zero experience doing shows withthat level of automated sophistication. We had to design a new automation system to make all thesebig pieces of scenery move on stage. It all had to go into a very cramped old theater and the work wasbeing done at a rapid pace. We were responsible for fit and finish on everything and the project meanta lot to Showman. Not only was it for a behemoth of a company, but we were jumping into territoryalready well established with our competitors. It would’ve been terrible to fail. [laughs] So seeing thepayoff of the show was great. And I got to work with George Tsypin, the show’s scenic designer. Hewas such a larger-than-life character. George went on to design the Opening Ceremony for the 2014Winter Olympics. That was very much like the Disney show we did with him. It was conceptual, andbig in every way. I liked doing that.

You also got to work with British sculptor Cornelia Parker on the Met’s PsychoBarn. What wasthat like?It was a perfect project in many ways because it was problem-solving from the beginning andeveryone was realistic about how many things were going to get. I may even have been brought in forthe initial client interview [with Parker] so that the artist could pick a team she felt comfortable with.The account executive asked me to accompany him to a meeting with Parker and she and I got into adialogue. I had a lot of questions about how we might approach certain aspects of the project. Therewas the matter of sourcing the material.

I read that PsychoBarn was built using salvaged parts from a barn in upstate New York. Howdid you find it?I think it was [Showman’s account executive] Jim Cummings who found the donor barn. He’d begunsearching various Internet sites for real estate and barn restoration and located this guy who purchasedthe barn. He had wanted to get something very specific from it and he was getting rid of the rest of thematerial. The Met had their budget so there was a little bit of back and forth about where and how wewere going to spend that money. It was all part of the negotiation and I was intimately involved in theprocess.

How long did you work on the project?Around five months.

And what’s the feeling when you’re done with a major project like that? You’re elated, of course.There are high fives all around and all that. But it can be sad, particularly when it’s something thatyou’ve spent so much time with. But the basking doesn’t last long because the next project or issue

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comes up quickly. That’s when the project is highly successful. When the project is a complete andabject utter failure for everybody, there is relief! You could’’t get away quick enough.

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11/14/16, 4:45 PMTechnical Designer Mike Riccio Takes Us Behind the Scenes of His Fasc…Projects, from 'PsychoBarn' to Broadway - June 14, 2016 - NewYork.com

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