Cindy Chao and Michele Yu (‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’ production designers): ‘There is literally no time to let things slip through the cracks’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“It was a show created to speak to an audience and culture that has never been prioritized in mainstream TV,” explains Michele Yu about “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” In our recent webchat, her fellow production designer Cindy Chao continues, “Each season brings over 40 sketches celebrating Black women. They are all different and range in different genres. It gives us the opportunity to design for each of those sketches and tells those stories.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
The half hour sketch show stars creator and showrunner Robin Thede alongside Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend. The fourth season premiered on HBO in April and has received its fourth straight Emmy nomination for Variety Scripted Series (the category was named Variety Sketch Series until this year). Yu says, “Every single shoot day is in a different location or set. We’ve got 40 sketches, which is actually more than 40 sets.” Chao adds, “There is literally no time to let things slip through the cracks. Once we get the script — it’s over 250 pages and we call it a bible — we are hitting the ground running and having meetings about each of the sketches.”
The pair have scored their second straight Emmy nomination with set decorator Lizzie Boyle in the Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series category. They are recognized for their work on the episode “Peek-a-Boob, Your Titty’s Out.” The episode features a sitcom parody, 1800’s ladies considering fast fashion and prehistoric reality drama with “The Real Housewives of B.C.” Yu jokes, “Sometimes we give extra considerations to episodes that have amazing titles. We want somebody to say them out loud in a proper setting. But in all seriousness, we chose that episode because it showcases so much of what makes show spectacular. You start in a women’s dressing room and end in a prehistoric cave.”
On watching the final product of the show, Chao reveals, “It comes to life. It shows how the collaborative efforts from all departments come together. The lighting, the framing and acting all comes together and just makes sense.”
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