Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Prairie Trivuth. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Prairie, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I am passionate about working with emerging filmmakers and helping them to bring their stories to life. As a production designer for independent and passion project films, I work closely with the director to develop a solid visual language for their stories. It’s very important when working on projects that are personal to the creators to deliver the utmost respect to the initial vision. However, what makes production design a magical craft is during the collaboration I have the opportunity to bring more to the story, such as things that we as designers see when reading between the lines that the script does not always point out. The most recent project I worked on was “Don’t Be Long” written and directed by Reem Jubran. It is a coming of age story about a Palestinian American girl who time travels and learns about her ancestral roots, and rediscovers her own relationship with those closest to her. With an all-female lead cast and a story so personal and emotional, the production design of their environment plays a powerful role to visualize the invisible forces that push, pull and blend between the characters. As we aim to give the audience hints and clues and keys to the overarching theme via visuals, the audience will have the tool to connect with the story on a deeper level.

Prairie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a Thai scenic/production designer. My passion for narrative-focused environmental and spatial design led me from Bangkok to Los Angeles to work in stage and production design. I enjoy projects that allow for visual clarity and creativity to emerge during the act of detangling relationships between all things- making a world where its physicality is informed by the forces that are introspectively present and brewing within the written words. Coming from an architecture background, my training and technical knowledge has played a huge role in how I view and process the art of environment creation. In my theater and film design paradigm, beyond articulating a unique visual language for each film, it is most important to her to ensure that the characters, the world, and the stories naturally reside well long before and way after the course of the portrayal, while also acknowledging the fleeting ephemerality of tales being told. Although I am currently mainly doing Set Design in the film industry, I never lose passion for smaller independent projects where I have the opportunity to deliver all original ideas and creative abstraction.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In Thailand where I’m from, there is a strong emphasis on respect for others, and there is a fear of confrontation. I never noticed that I carried a people-pleaser mentality until I came to California and my habits in that area stood out like a sore thumb in a way that hurt my career and professional relationships. I used to be afraid to speak up for myself or my ideas, and I would fold automatically in order to avoid conflict. However, in order to thrive in the creative field in such a competitive space, it is important to be confident and have integrity in your work. You need to be able to stand up for your visions and ideas, especially as a leader, as there are people who depend on your decision to move forward with their responsibilities. And in the same way, you also need to be able to take feedback constructively, and use it to improve your work, and never to internalize a professional criticism because it could hinder your growth while you obsess over one small thing. I have been practicing being assertive and at the same time open minded, and taking accountability for both the ups and downs. As any artist, when I do work, I put a lot of effort into it, so to prevent it from being misunderstood or unseen, I have to be confident and honest with the way it is presented to my collaborators.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Being a designer for narrative is to be a part of something larger than yourself. You are helping to create art that will be enjoyed by those who are willing to suspend their disbelief and trust you to deliver to them a world that is beyond reality and at the same time truly grounded with a strong foundation. It is a challenging and rewarding job, and it is a great feeling to know that you are making a difference. There is nothing quite like the feeling of walking into a theater and seeing sets come to life with music, words, lights, and action. During this past year it has been my biggest privilege and honor to have the opportunity to work alongside the most talented artists and incredible minds in my life, and it is such an honor to know I’ve mutually played a part in their experience as artists. Moreover, what I love the most about theatermaking and filmmaking is the collaborative nature between the creators and audience- I always feel like my work is never complete until the audience is present at the end of the line and takes on the challenge of going on this ride that we created.x   

Contact Info:

• Website: www.prairiett.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prairiettrivuth/

Image Credits
Jackie Fang, Raquel Hagman, Marcus Patterson, J. J. Geiger, Jessica Brooks