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Setting the stage

Gay theater designer says less is more in his field

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Local theater set designer Tony Cisek whose long career in Washington has garnered him four Helen Hayes Awards. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

A playwright sets the scene with words, but it’s up to the scenic designer to bring it to life visually.

As one of D.C.’s top set designers, Tony Cisek is a master at transporting audiences to places both foreign and familiar. In this year’s season alone, he’s taken us to an exotic Cypriot encampment, a steamy Florida cigar factory, an airport terminal and with his most recent work — “The Taming of the Shrew” currently running at the Folger Theatre — the Wild West.

Cisek (pronounced Chis-eck) explains that while sets can range anywhere from totally abstract to highly realistic, his typically lie someplace in between. For Ford’s Theatre fall production of “Parade” (the musical account of the 1913 murder of teenage factory work Mary Phagan in Atlanta in 1913 and the subsequent lynching of her accused murderer Leo Frank two years later), Cisek’s design was serviceable yet haunting: he imagined a newly industrialized red brick Atlanta with two towering columns, each in unchecked stages of decay, standing as fading remnants of a more glorious South.

“The ‘Parade’ set was the result of over 20 sketches,” he says. “My favorite way to design is to distill and distill, to edit down until you have just what you need. I’m not good at decorating or excessive dressing.”

“I’m not interested in a purely naturalistic representation of something that leaves nothing to the imagination,” says Cisek, who’s gay. “I feel the audiences come to theater because they’re interested in doing a little work, in having to lean forward and fill in, and they have the capacity to do this. I like using elements that evoke certain feelings, times and places by using textures and forms.”

Growing up in Queens, New York, Cisek was introduced to set design while working stage crew on high school plays, but it was as a pre-med major at Georgetown University that he began to get serious about it. “A friend dragged me to a Masque and Bauble production [Georgetown University’s student-run theater group],” he says. “And I was blown away that people my age could do something with such artistry. I got involved and learned a lot. If you had the aptitude and the inclination you could do almost anything.”

Soon, Sunday evening phone calls home focused on shows and sets rather than organic chemistry. By Cisek’s senior year it was obvious to both him and his parents that a future in medicine was out and a career as a professional set designer was taking shape. He went on to study scenic design at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After receiving his master’s in 1994, he planned to stay on in Manhattan, but things worked out differently. Offers from the Washington theater scene came fast and frequently (and have continued uninterrupted), so he and his longtime partner, a scientist, make D.C. their home.

For the four-time Helen Hayes Award winner, inspiration comes in many ways.

“I like to say I never know when the muse will descend,” says Cisek, 47. “Sometimes it’s in the not-fully awake early hours when your brain is figuring things out without you or when you’re fiddling with the white model [a preliminary small scale model] or Skyping across country with a director. Often the indispensable lighting and costume designers will have a great suggestion.”

But Cisek’s favorite path to inspiration is brainstorming with the director in the theater. In the case of Folger Theatre’s “Othello” that ran earlier this season, he and director Robert Richmond did just that, spending several hours chasing down ideas and scribbling on napkins.  In time, sketches and models were rendered and the technical director oversaw the execution of the design. Ultimately, the result was a dazzling set that morphed from a towering canopy bed elaborately crowned in carved wood to magistrate’s office to billowing ship sails to a fabulously appointed Bedouin-style tent.

Like many designers, Cisek enjoys working with simpatico directors. This season he collaborated with gay director José Carrasquillo three times: WSC Avant Bard’s “Happy Days” (memorably encasing actor Delia Taylor in a gigantic dress); GALA Theatre’s “Ana en el Tropico”; and Arthur Miller’s “After the Fall” at Theatre J, all well-received productions.

José Carrasquillo says, “Tony is fearless in expressing his feelings and opinions, but most importantly he enjoys making theater. It’s a gift to have a designer that despite the hard work that goes into doing a show, would not be anyplace else in the world, but right next to the director and the other team members inside a theater making a story three dimensional.”

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Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

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Calendar

Calendar: May 2-8

LGBTQ events in the days to come

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Friday, May 2

“Center Aging Friday Tea Time” will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected]

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Social in the City” at 7 p.m. at P.F. Chang’s. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite

Saturday, May 3

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ People of Color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment free. There are all sorts of activities like watching movies, poetry events, storytelling, and just hanging out with others. For more information and events for LGBTQ People of Color, visit thedccenter.org/poc or facebook.com/centerpoc

Sunday, May 4

“The Chateau Drag Brunch” will be at 12 p.m. at Chicatana. Enjoy fabulous Mexican food and cocktails while being entertained by a rotating cast of the DMV’s best drag performers. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite

“The Bubble: Queer Brooklyn Comics in DC” will be at 5 p.m. at As You Are. Queer comedians Charlie Flynn, Evan Lazarus and Keara Sullivan are coming down from NYC for a night of fun as they split an hour of standup comedy. For more details, visit Eventbrite

Monday, May 5

“Center Aging Monday Coffee & Conversation” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected]

Tuesday, May 6

Universal Pride Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group seeks to support, educate, empower, and create change for people with disabilities. For more details, email [email protected]

Wednesday, May 7

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.

Center Aging Women’s Social and Discussion Group will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This group is a place where older queer women can meet and socialize with one another. We will have discussion, activities, and a chance for you to share what you want future events to include. For more details, email [email protected]

Thursday, May 8

The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245. 

Virtual Yoga with Sarah M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.

South Asian Support Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The peer support group is an outlet for South Asian-identified LGBTQ individuals to come and talk about anything affecting them. It’s a secure, judgment-free environment to discuss relationships, sexuality, health, well-being, identity, culture, religion, or anything that is on your mind. For more details, email [email protected]

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