ART SHOW (MAD.KAT Gallery)
Meet Kim A. Tolman | Artist, Gallerist, Production Designer, Theatre Designer, Art Director
SHOUTOUT LA
Meet Kim A. Tolman | Artist, Gallerist, Production Designer, Theatre Designer, Art Director
SHOUTOUT LA
ART SHOW OPENING (MAD.KAT Gallery)
Emotional Place: MAD.KAT Art Gallery Opens With a Retrospective of Paintings by Owner Kim Tolman
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
LA BOHEME (Opera San Jose):
Set applause!
Kim A. Tolman’s Café Momus, heavy on the trompe l’oeil, is immaculate and lovely,
inspiring one of those only-in-opera ovations for inanimate objects.
OPERAVILLE
LA BOHEME (Opera San Jose):
Kim A. Tolman’s large-scale set design is a masterpiece of a Monmartr’ian Rubik’s Cube.
It turns and repositions, and gets re-dressed and re-purposed with eye-popping results.
Twice, the curtain reveal of a new setting garnered well-merited audience applause.
OPERA TODAY
ALL MY SONS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Kim A. Tolman's literal and metaphoric set design is quite lovely,
really creating a type of Rockwellian feel that contrasts nicely with the irony of their lives.
BAY AREA PLAYS
ALL MY SONS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre)
Theatergoers are sure to miss the wonderful artistry of set designer Kim A. Tolman,
who with "All My Sons" completes her 28th and final show for DMT.
Always beautiful and arresting, Tolman's work stays the course with this production,
placing the audience in the backyard of the Keller's sunny little house
amid a grove of towering trees.
While seemingly protected and serene, the house sits in the shadowy treetop of Larry's memorial tree
felled by the wind; a long stripe of green extends out of the garden and ominously up the wall,
curving overhead like a frozen wave waiting to crash down.
TRI-CITY VOICE
DIVIDING THE ESTATE (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
The story unfolds on an enormous, slightly surreal set by scenic designer Kim A. Tolman,
in which a telephone pole stretches up from the family dining room,
a long road that leads to who knows where passes inches from the house
and other delights add a huge impact to the story.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
FROST/NIXON (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
...Kim Tolman's set is excellent...
The performance of John Hale, along with the set and the superior staging
are award-worthy and worth your attention and money.
EYE FROM THE ISLE / EXAMINER
DRACULA (CenterREP):
Kim A. Tolman’s set is a knockout, a shadowy Expressionistic jumble of tall gray buildings jutting
diagonally like tombs strewn willy-nilly by an earthquake. Red twiggy trees rise on the sidelines,
their bare branches looking like arteries.
THE IDIOLECT
DRACULA (CenterREP):
"Dracula" unfolds on a wonderfully creepy set by Kim A. Tolman.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
CABARET (SF Playhouse):
Kim A. Tolman's Art Deco-infused set design succinctly captures the Weimar aesthetic.
The addition of a row of round, cafe-style tables and chairs close to the stage
further creates an intimate, nightclub aura.
SF WEEKLY
FROZEN (Eureka Theatre):
Kim Tolman's set design hits on various metaphorical strains with some wonderfully nuanced accents.
She contains each character on his or her own blue mini-stage situated on the main stage,
each of which vaguely resembles an ice floe.
A diagonal line of blank book pages crossing the stage's back wall signals time passing,
while forgiveness seems to burst wildly but just out of reach as a cloud of oversized
white flowers hanging high overhead.
KQED.ORG
FROZEN (Eureka Theatre):
...wonderfully evocative set by Kim A. Tolman.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Two words about the set design (Kim A. Tolman) simply fabulous.
THE MILPITAS POST
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Kim A. Tolman's set has a wonderful voice of its own;
lazy leaf paddle fans turn over crisp white furniture,
draperies and doors of a bed/sitting room,
creating a cool contrast to the hot blood and desperation of its inhabitants.
Draping black trees that frame the stage seem to allude to the presence of crisis.
TRI-CITY VOICE
LA BOHEME (Portland State University):
The scenery by Kim A. Tolman was just right for evoking the artists threadbare attic,
a splashy outdoor setting for Café Momus, and a chilly customs post at the city gate.
NORTHWEST REVERB
LA BOHEME (Portland State University):
Kim Tolman’s sets, especially the Latin Quarter street scene in the second act
and the Orleans gate in the third, were eye-catching and a perfect scale for the production.
OREGONLIVE.COM
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (CenterREP):
A spectacular set by Kim Tolman features an oversized sliver of a moon,
perfect for Oberon and Puck to watch the consequences of their mischievous actions,
and houses that collapse into forest environs all lit to undulating perfection by Kurt Landisman,
with the actors dressed to impress by B. Modern.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
MRS. BOB CRATCHIT’S WILD CHRISTMAS BINGE (San Francisco Playhouse):
Kim A. Tolman's clever set of jumbo books that "open" to provide scene changes
is a solid primary design contrib.
VARIETY
A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (Hapgood Theatre Co.):
Walking into the playhouse, theater-goers are struck by the exceedingly wide weather-worn
farmhouse set that seems to stretch across nearly the entire stage. Designed by Kim Tolman,
a Bay Area professional set designer, it is the perfect backdrop for the
larger-than-life characters of this semi-autobiographical tale,
which the Danville playwright dedicated to his troubled brother Jamie.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (Hapgood Theatre Co.):
...giving the play a sort of Cinemascope look.
Set designer Kim Tolman took full advantage of the horizonal with her slightly
smaller-scale farm scene, which gave the actors a larger-than-life appearance.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
VIATICUM: THE CARNAL TABLE (Live Oak Theatre):
On a set out of a Gothic fairytale (designed by Kim A. Tolman)
a crypt with a crazy rose window above,
a hovering eye and the Mona Lisa with her face half covered by a hand
as she gazes out over the audience, a chessboard below as flooring.
Saul Strange (David Usner, himself a skydiver) writhes on his seeming deathbed,
rigged with parachute lines, in an upbeat final agony,
attended by his family with painted faces...
BERKELEY DAILY PLANET
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH (Ashby Stage):
The narrator, addressing the audience like a museum docent, literally pulls the veil from the archaic literary figure - seated statue-like at the summit of a pyramidal series of steps at the center of set designer Kim Tolman's clean, uncluttered gallery of ancient artifacts...
SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
LA BOHEME (Tacoma Opera):
Winning over the audience, though, was Café Momus. After Rodolfo's rather prosaic apartment, the scenery in Act II justified applause: tall Parisian storefronts melding seamlessly into the backdrop, cool blue lighting bringing out shadows of wrought iron balconies.
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
LA BOHEME (Opera San José):
The painterly sets by Kim A. Tolman are superb throughout but the second act gives us an 1840s Latin Quarter with wonderful fidelity and depth.
OUT AND ABOUT MAGAZINE
RICHARD III (LupineEvent @ Project Artaud Theater):
…this production has a large black-and-white picture of a hand holding a rose at center stage.
It's a striking image full of violence and romance that's ideal for Shakespeare's great meditation on the seductive nature of evil. The rose is just part of Kim A. Tolman's masterful set, which places us in an abstract future and defines the author's themes in bold modern strokes.
SF WEEKLY
ENCHANTED APRIL (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
...Act 2's idyllic Italian castle received 'wow' reviews
from the audience the moment the curtained opened.
INSIDE BAY AREA
THE WOMEN (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Scenic Designer Kim Tolman returns to the Morrisson with what,
I believe, is her most magnificent set yet.
Done in the Art Deco Style, it captures the glamour and glitz of the 1930s perfectly.
SAN LEANDRO TIMES
BREAKING LEGS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Special attention must be paid to the drop-dead
authentic Italian restaurant set created by Kim Tolman.
From the black-and-white diamond flooring to the paintings, religious icons,
red-checkered tablecloths and tacky lights - it's all there.
And Ms. Tolman went all out painting the angelic cherubs behind the bar.
Another authentic touch: As the moon came up and the lights dimmed,
the neon Graziano's Restaurant sign blinked on
INSIDE BAY AREA
Emotional Place: MAD.KAT Art Gallery Opens With a Retrospective of Paintings by Owner Kim Tolman
COACHELLA VALLEY INDEPENDENT
LA BOHEME (Opera San Jose):
Set applause!
Kim A. Tolman’s Café Momus, heavy on the trompe l’oeil, is immaculate and lovely,
inspiring one of those only-in-opera ovations for inanimate objects.
OPERAVILLE
LA BOHEME (Opera San Jose):
Kim A. Tolman’s large-scale set design is a masterpiece of a Monmartr’ian Rubik’s Cube.
It turns and repositions, and gets re-dressed and re-purposed with eye-popping results.
Twice, the curtain reveal of a new setting garnered well-merited audience applause.
OPERA TODAY
ALL MY SONS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Kim A. Tolman's literal and metaphoric set design is quite lovely,
really creating a type of Rockwellian feel that contrasts nicely with the irony of their lives.
BAY AREA PLAYS
ALL MY SONS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre)
Theatergoers are sure to miss the wonderful artistry of set designer Kim A. Tolman,
who with "All My Sons" completes her 28th and final show for DMT.
Always beautiful and arresting, Tolman's work stays the course with this production,
placing the audience in the backyard of the Keller's sunny little house
amid a grove of towering trees.
While seemingly protected and serene, the house sits in the shadowy treetop of Larry's memorial tree
felled by the wind; a long stripe of green extends out of the garden and ominously up the wall,
curving overhead like a frozen wave waiting to crash down.
TRI-CITY VOICE
DIVIDING THE ESTATE (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
The story unfolds on an enormous, slightly surreal set by scenic designer Kim A. Tolman,
in which a telephone pole stretches up from the family dining room,
a long road that leads to who knows where passes inches from the house
and other delights add a huge impact to the story.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
FROST/NIXON (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
...Kim Tolman's set is excellent...
The performance of John Hale, along with the set and the superior staging
are award-worthy and worth your attention and money.
EYE FROM THE ISLE / EXAMINER
DRACULA (CenterREP):
Kim A. Tolman’s set is a knockout, a shadowy Expressionistic jumble of tall gray buildings jutting
diagonally like tombs strewn willy-nilly by an earthquake. Red twiggy trees rise on the sidelines,
their bare branches looking like arteries.
THE IDIOLECT
DRACULA (CenterREP):
"Dracula" unfolds on a wonderfully creepy set by Kim A. Tolman.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
CABARET (SF Playhouse):
Kim A. Tolman's Art Deco-infused set design succinctly captures the Weimar aesthetic.
The addition of a row of round, cafe-style tables and chairs close to the stage
further creates an intimate, nightclub aura.
SF WEEKLY
FROZEN (Eureka Theatre):
Kim Tolman's set design hits on various metaphorical strains with some wonderfully nuanced accents.
She contains each character on his or her own blue mini-stage situated on the main stage,
each of which vaguely resembles an ice floe.
A diagonal line of blank book pages crossing the stage's back wall signals time passing,
while forgiveness seems to burst wildly but just out of reach as a cloud of oversized
white flowers hanging high overhead.
KQED.ORG
FROZEN (Eureka Theatre):
...wonderfully evocative set by Kim A. Tolman.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Two words about the set design (Kim A. Tolman) simply fabulous.
THE MILPITAS POST
CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Kim A. Tolman's set has a wonderful voice of its own;
lazy leaf paddle fans turn over crisp white furniture,
draperies and doors of a bed/sitting room,
creating a cool contrast to the hot blood and desperation of its inhabitants.
Draping black trees that frame the stage seem to allude to the presence of crisis.
TRI-CITY VOICE
LA BOHEME (Portland State University):
The scenery by Kim A. Tolman was just right for evoking the artists threadbare attic,
a splashy outdoor setting for Café Momus, and a chilly customs post at the city gate.
NORTHWEST REVERB
LA BOHEME (Portland State University):
Kim Tolman’s sets, especially the Latin Quarter street scene in the second act
and the Orleans gate in the third, were eye-catching and a perfect scale for the production.
OREGONLIVE.COM
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (CenterREP):
A spectacular set by Kim Tolman features an oversized sliver of a moon,
perfect for Oberon and Puck to watch the consequences of their mischievous actions,
and houses that collapse into forest environs all lit to undulating perfection by Kurt Landisman,
with the actors dressed to impress by B. Modern.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
MRS. BOB CRATCHIT’S WILD CHRISTMAS BINGE (San Francisco Playhouse):
Kim A. Tolman's clever set of jumbo books that "open" to provide scene changes
is a solid primary design contrib.
VARIETY
A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (Hapgood Theatre Co.):
Walking into the playhouse, theater-goers are struck by the exceedingly wide weather-worn
farmhouse set that seems to stretch across nearly the entire stage. Designed by Kim Tolman,
a Bay Area professional set designer, it is the perfect backdrop for the
larger-than-life characters of this semi-autobiographical tale,
which the Danville playwright dedicated to his troubled brother Jamie.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (Hapgood Theatre Co.):
...giving the play a sort of Cinemascope look.
Set designer Kim Tolman took full advantage of the horizonal with her slightly
smaller-scale farm scene, which gave the actors a larger-than-life appearance.
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
VIATICUM: THE CARNAL TABLE (Live Oak Theatre):
On a set out of a Gothic fairytale (designed by Kim A. Tolman)
a crypt with a crazy rose window above,
a hovering eye and the Mona Lisa with her face half covered by a hand
as she gazes out over the audience, a chessboard below as flooring.
Saul Strange (David Usner, himself a skydiver) writhes on his seeming deathbed,
rigged with parachute lines, in an upbeat final agony,
attended by his family with painted faces...
BERKELEY DAILY PLANET
THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH (Ashby Stage):
The narrator, addressing the audience like a museum docent, literally pulls the veil from the archaic literary figure - seated statue-like at the summit of a pyramidal series of steps at the center of set designer Kim Tolman's clean, uncluttered gallery of ancient artifacts...
SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN
LA BOHEME (Tacoma Opera):
Winning over the audience, though, was Café Momus. After Rodolfo's rather prosaic apartment, the scenery in Act II justified applause: tall Parisian storefronts melding seamlessly into the backdrop, cool blue lighting bringing out shadows of wrought iron balconies.
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
LA BOHEME (Opera San José):
The painterly sets by Kim A. Tolman are superb throughout but the second act gives us an 1840s Latin Quarter with wonderful fidelity and depth.
OUT AND ABOUT MAGAZINE
RICHARD III (LupineEvent @ Project Artaud Theater):
…this production has a large black-and-white picture of a hand holding a rose at center stage.
It's a striking image full of violence and romance that's ideal for Shakespeare's great meditation on the seductive nature of evil. The rose is just part of Kim A. Tolman's masterful set, which places us in an abstract future and defines the author's themes in bold modern strokes.
SF WEEKLY
ENCHANTED APRIL (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
...Act 2's idyllic Italian castle received 'wow' reviews
from the audience the moment the curtained opened.
INSIDE BAY AREA
THE WOMEN (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Scenic Designer Kim Tolman returns to the Morrisson with what,
I believe, is her most magnificent set yet.
Done in the Art Deco Style, it captures the glamour and glitz of the 1930s perfectly.
SAN LEANDRO TIMES
BREAKING LEGS (Douglas Morrisson Theatre):
Special attention must be paid to the drop-dead
authentic Italian restaurant set created by Kim Tolman.
From the black-and-white diamond flooring to the paintings, religious icons,
red-checkered tablecloths and tacky lights - it's all there.
And Ms. Tolman went all out painting the angelic cherubs behind the bar.
Another authentic touch: As the moon came up and the lights dimmed,
the neon Graziano's Restaurant sign blinked on
INSIDE BAY AREA