INTERVIEW BY JOSHUA SHERMAN , M . D .
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY DAVID WASCO & SANDY REYNOLDS-WASCO
Sandy & David during the production of La La Land , Photo by Dale Robinette
WITH
David Wasco & Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
David Wasco and Sandy Reynolds-Wasco are an Academy Award ® Winning husband-and-wife duo . Their masterfully-crafted production designs can be seen in the films of such celebrated directors as Quentin Tarantino , Aaron Sorkin , David Mamet , Wes Anderson , and Damien Chazelle . David Wasco spent his adolescent years in Bennington , VT – and that time in Vermont had a formative impact on his life journey .
Sherman : Thanks so much for joining me , David and Sandy ! We ’ re going to open up the conversation to both of you once we start discussing your careers . But David , since you grew up in Vermont , let ’ s start with you individually . Where were you born , and how did you first make your way to Vermont ?
David : I was born right outside of New York City in Carlstadt , New Jersey , but my teenage years were spent in Shaftsbury and Bennington , Vermont . My dad was offered a job as an art teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington , and we moved to Vermont when I was 12 .
Sherman : So , your father was an artist ?
David : My father was a Cooper Union graduate . He had some fantastic teachers throughout his schooling , such as the photographer Berenice Abbott . He ’ s a master photographer , and he ’ s also an architect , a lettering designer , a ceramic artist , and an abstract expressionist painter . All of that translated into the way that my two brothers and I were raised .
Sherman : You were part of the first freshman class at the “ then new ” Mount Anthony Union High School , which you said was a great experience . What was it like moving from New Jersey to Vermont , and what were your first impressions of the new Mount Anthony Union High School Building ?
David : Growing up in Bennington , there was an annual festival called , “ The Bennington Crafts Fair ” that took place at the Mount Anthony Union High School grounds . It attracted people from all over the United States , because the craft world was very big back then . There were also a lot of peaceful protests that were happening in the late 1960s , including protests on the nuclear power plants that were being planned for Vermont . I was lucky to be in Southwestern Vermont in the late 1960s and early 1970s , because I got to meet David Gill , who was the owner and founder of Bennington Potters . He
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