Keith Raywood

In his two-and-a-half-hour interview, Keith Raywood talks about his early years, and his early interest in architecture. He describes being led into a career as an art director for features, including Easy Money, and eventually being hired to work on Lorne Michaels’ The New Show. He chronicles his many years working as a production designer on Saturday Night Live, discussing his role on the production design team, and the various sets he designed for the show over the years. Raywood recounts doing production design for several MTV and VH1 shows, including the MTV Video Music Awards, VH1 Divas, MTV Unplugged, and VH1 Storytellers. He recalls designing the set for The Concert for New York City in the wake of 9/11, and working on Def Comedy Jam. He discusses helping to design the initial sets for 30 Rock, and returning to help out with the show’s two live episode later in its run. He speaks of production designing for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Lip Sync Battle. He concludes by detailing his style, and speaking of career achievements and regrets. Adrienne Faillace conducted the interview on September 14, 2017 in Burbank, CA.

In their two-hour joint interview, the Saturday Night Live production design team, Eugene Lee, Keith Raywood, Leo Yoshimura, and Joe DeTullio, talk about how each of them came to join the staff of Saturday Night Live. They recall designing the various “home base” sets for the show over the years, and consulting with executive producer Lorne Michaels for his input. They describe how they collaborate with each other, and with other departments on the show. They describe working with the various directors of the show, and on the unique challenges of doing production design for a live broadcast. They chronicle some of their favorite sets and most memorable moments, and working with the musical guests. Finally, they opine on why Saturday Night Live has endured, and speculate on how much longer they might stay with the show. Jenni Matz conducted the interview on May 17, 2017 in New York, NY.