Theatre Design Thread - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Derwood · 03-09-2006, 03:07 PM

I promised (threatened

) to post some of my design work awhile back and am finally getting around to it. I encourage others to do the same.

All photos are of my Lighting Design work unless otherwise noted.

These will be posted in chronological order, earliest to most recent:

"Sisterly Feelings" - DePaul U., 1996

"Mrs. Warren's Profession" - Peterborough Players, 1996

"Danceworks" - DePaul U., 1997

"Whitman" - Northwestern U., 1998

"To Kill a Mockingbird" - Northwestern U., 1999

"An Enemy of the People" - Northwestern U., 1999

"The Crucible" (opera) - Northwestern U., 2000

"Medea" (scene design class project) - Northwestern U., 2000

"The Mikado" (scene design class project) - Northwestern U., 2000

"Undone" - About Face Theatre, 2001

"Seven Moves" - About Face Theatre, 2002

"Tattoo Girl" - Cobalt Theatre, 2002

"insideOUT" (scenery and lighting) - About Face Theatre, 2002

"insideOUT" (scenic model) - About Face Theatre, 2002

"Theater District" - About Face Theatre (at Steppenwolf), 2002

"Big Love" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2002

"Fen" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2003

"Misalliance" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2002

"Fascination" - About Face Theatre, 2003

onodrim · 03-09-2006, 03:17 PM

Absolutely stunning work! Especially with the outdoor scenes. You capture the light in a way that is so natural but really conveys what it needed for the stage as well. /me would love to be on stage in one of your designs

Derwood · 03-09-2006, 03:20 PM

thanks. I haven't designed anything since April (since moving from Chicago to Central PA and becoming a stay-at-home dad). I'm really jonesing for some creative outlet, but the theatre scene here is pretty much "oh, you're not a PSU student. So sorry!"

Slippery Slope · 03-09-2006, 04:03 PM

Very nice work indeed! I'll certainly be popping back
here from time to time to have another look.

Derwood · 03-09-2006, 04:36 PM

i'll try to dig out some of my drawing/painting from Northwestern and post those here too

fresnelly · 03-09-2006, 06:22 PM

Wow, Derwood! I'm glad you finally got around to posting these. That's a very impressive portfolio. My favourite is the one from Mockingbird. It really paints the story. Though I haven't read that book in years, the photo brought that scene back to me immediately.

I sympathise with your dry spell. Despite the size of Toronto's theatre scene, the work usually goes to the same handful of designers.

I've already posted a few photos in Leftyderek's The Theatre thread:

http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...theatre+thread

Here's a few from the February show I recently talked about in my journal:
(Sorry about the goofy sizing)

Charlatan · 03-09-2006, 06:24 PM

Excellent work.

I really like Inside Out, The crucible, Enemy of the People and Tattoo Girl. Great design.

ratbastid · 03-09-2006, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derwood

I'm really jonesing for some creative outlet, but the theatre scene here is pretty much "oh, you're not a PSU student. So sorry!"

Find some way to teach. Seriously. Your level of craftsmanship and artistry needs to find outlet in the next generation of professionals.

I'm on the musical/performance end of theater, and I can say, the designs you've shown here are head and shoulders above most of what gets put on professional stages.

SecretMethod70 · 03-10-2006, 12:12 AM

EXCELLENT work derwood, I'm very impressed as someone who has spent a whole lot of time performing.

onodrim · 03-10-2006, 12:30 AM

Oh wow! I just noticed - you were doing work at Illinois Wesleyan while I was a freshman/sophomore there! If I had been smart and gotten out of the crap music school and into the good theare school instead as a music theatre major like I should have done, we could have worked together for real!

What a small world though, IWU is smaller than my high school, and I still manage to come across someone on the web who has a connection there!

(as an example of the crap music school

Our opera which is opening this weekend is a collection of operetta scenes, we have no set, were responsible for our own costumes, and the lighting is a few twenty year old spots run by cast members from the balcony.......the theatre school, well, you saw Derwood's work.

)

Derwood · 03-10-2006, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onodrim

Oh wow! I just noticed - you were doing work at Illinois Wesleyan while I was a freshman/sophomore there! If I had been smart and gotten out of the crap music school and into the good theare school instead as a music theatre major like I should have done, we could have worked together for real!

What a small world though, IWU is smaller than my high school, and I still manage to come across someone on the web who has a connection there!

(as an example of the crap music school

Our opera which is opening this weekend is a collection of operetta scenes, we have no set, were responsible for our own costumes, and the lighting is a few twenty year old spots run by cast members from the balcony.......the theatre school, well, you saw Derwood's work.

)

sadly, that program won't support a salary for a full time lighting professor, so I taught for one year and that was it. Never heard another word from them. It was a fun year, but a strange ending (not so much as a "good luck" or "thank you")

Derwood · 03-10-2006, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ratbastid

Find some way to teach. Seriously. Your level of craftsmanship and artistry needs to find outlet in the next generation of professionals.

I'm on the musical/performance end of theater, and I can say, the designs you've shown here are head and shoulders above most of what gets put on professional stages.

I'm trying, but it's tough. I applied at PSU 2 or 3 years ago but was drowned by the competition (profs from other major schools with 20+ years experience, etc.) I didn't so much as get an interview. I'm working on getting the Technical Manager position at a newly renovated theatre spacehere in town, but that probably won't give too much design opportunity. I understood the sacrifice of moving away from a vibrant arts scene in chicago, but buying a house and raising a family trumped making $500/show and working 12-18 hours a day

ratbastid · 03-10-2006, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derwood

I understood the sacrifice of moving away from a vibrant arts scene in chicago, but buying a house and raising a family trumped making $500/show and working 12-18 hours a day

I hear that! I'm music directing a high school show right now and... well, let's just say, if I was in it for the money, you couldn't pay me enough!

Derwood · 03-10-2006, 11:25 AM

The most I ever got paid to design a show was probably $1500. You figure you have to design 20 shows a year at that rate just to make $30,000. That's ludicrous.

Derwood · 03-10-2006, 11:51 AM

Some of my drawing/painting. Clearly light is my artistic medium (he he he). All this work was at Northwestern.

Pencil Study

Pen and Ink Study

Painting Study (Gouache I think)

Flat Rendering of Antigone Set Design (Acrylic, Modeling Paste, Gouache)

Costume Study (Watercolor, Pen and Ink) Clearly why I'm not a Costume Designer

Pencil Study (Michelangelo)

Pencil Study (Original Work "in the style" of previous study)

Paint Elevation for scenic arch (Gouache) - Midsummer Night's Dream

Paint Elevation of flower scenery (Marker) - Midsummer Night's Dream

Photo of Midsummer Night's Dream (stupid lighting designer didn't put ANY light on my arch, so you can barely see it. Too bad, it was beautifully painted by the staff scenic artist)

Derwood · 03-16-2006, 03:58 PM

So, my design funk may be over. I've been offered a job to design a brand new play by Mary Zimmerman (she wrote/directed "Metamorphisis" on Broadway and across the country). I just have to work out the logistics of getting to Chicago for 3 weeks, who will watch the kids, etc. If it works out I'll be pretty psyched, as Mary's shows tend to have more than one production, and it would be my first show that got remounted in other theatres (and possibly Broadway, but let's not get ahead of ourselves).

Wish me luck!

MooseMan3000 · 03-16-2006, 04:56 PM

Holy crap. Good luck with that! I'm sure you won't disappoint - from what I've seen here, your work is fantastic. I'll see if I can locate some pictures of my lighting and set design pieces - though compared to what you've shown us, they'll probably seem downright amateur.

Derwood · 03-16-2006, 08:14 PM

thanks for the kind words. I was fortunate to attend two fabulous schools and work with some of Chicago's best directors.

and for whatever reason, I "see" light. I can't draw or paint for shit anymore, but light is the medium I was programmed to work in

fresnelly · 03-17-2006, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derwood

and for whatever reason, I "see" light. I can't draw or paint for shit anymore, but light is the medium I was programmed to work in

I'm the same way. If it weren't for rulers or AutoCAD, I'd be completely helpless.

nrclark · 03-20-2006, 06:38 PM

great work ... plain and simple

Derwood · 03-20-2006, 07:21 PM

Thanks.

Hopefully this theatre gets back to me here soon so I can figure out if I'm doing this show or not. It opens in June but that's a pretty tight timeframe for me when you start backtracking to when stuff is due, travel arrangements, etc.

doodlebird · 03-26-2006, 05:08 PM

nice work all around derwood.
keep us posted about your job progress.

Derwood · 03-28-2006, 04:03 AM

Gah, the Mary Zimmerman show fell through. They failed to tell me that I was the backup plan in case their first choice designer couldn't work out her schedule. I guess they came to an agreement so I'm out of the running. So it goes

fresnelly · 03-28-2006, 06:26 AM

Wow, that's a pisser. Sorry to hear that.

Maybe you can arrange an "incident" with a loose barn door.

Lewis · 03-30-2006, 04:53 PM

Wonderful stuff! Thanks for sharing it.

I have a belief that if something you think you want falls through, it must mean that there's something better for you coming up! I hope that's true for you.

03-09-2006, 03:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	Theatre Design Thread I promised (threatened ) to post some of my design work awhile back and am finally getting around to it. I encourage others to do the same. All photos are of my Lighting Design work unless otherwise noted. These will be posted in chronological order, earliest to most recent: "Sisterly Feelings" - DePaul U., 1996 "Sisterly Feelings" - DePaul U., 1996 "Mrs. Warren's Profession" - Peterborough Players, 1996 "Danceworks" - DePaul U., 1997 "Whitman" - Northwestern U., 1998 "To Kill a Mockingbird" - Northwestern U., 1999 "To Kill a Mockingbird" - Northwestern U., 1999 "An Enemy of the People" - Northwestern U., 1999 "An Enemy of the People" - Northwestern U., 1999 "The Crucible" (opera) - Northwestern U., 2000 "Medea" (scene design class project) - Northwestern U., 2000 "The Mikado" (scene design class project) - Northwestern U., 2000 "Undone" - About Face Theatre, 2001 "Seven Moves" - About Face Theatre, 2002 "Seven Moves" - About Face Theatre, 2002 "Tattoo Girl" - Cobalt Theatre, 2002 "insideOUT" (scenery and lighting) - About Face Theatre, 2002 "insideOUT" (scenic model) - About Face Theatre, 2002 "Theater District" - About Face Theatre (at Steppenwolf), 2002 "Theater District" - About Face Theatre (at Steppenwolf), 2002 "Big Love" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2002 "Fen" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2003 "Misalliance" - Illinois-Wesleyan U., 2002 "Fascination" - About Face Theatre, 2003 __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel Last edited by Derwood; 03-10-2006 at 05:12 AM..

03-09-2006, 03:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
onodrim Cosmically Curious Location: Chicago, IL	Absolutely stunning work! Especially with the outdoor scenes. You capture the light in a way that is so natural but really conveys what it needed for the stage as well. /me would love to be on stage in one of your designs __________________ "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides" -Carl Sagan

03-09-2006, 03:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	thanks. I haven't designed anything since April (since moving from Chicago to Central PA and becoming a stay-at-home dad). I'm really jonesing for some creative outlet, but the theatre scene here is pretty much "oh, you're not a PSU student. So sorry!" __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-09-2006, 04:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	i'll try to dig out some of my drawing/painting from Northwestern and post those here too __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-09-2006, 06:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	Wow, Derwood! I'm glad you finally got around to posting these. That's a very impressive portfolio. My favourite is the one from Mockingbird. It really paints the story. Though I haven't read that book in years, the photo brought that scene back to me immediately. I sympathise with your dry spell. Despite the size of Toronto's theatre scene, the work usually goes to the same handful of designers. I've already posted a few photos in Leftyderek's The Theatre thread: http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...theatre+thread Here's a few from the February show I recently talked about in my journal: (Sorry about the goofy sizing) __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

03-09-2006, 04:03 PM	#4 (permalink)
Slippery Slope Crazy	Very nice work indeed! I'll certainly be popping back here from time to time to have another look.

03-09-2006, 06:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Excellent work. I really like Inside Out, The crucible, Enemy of the People and Tattoo Girl. Great design. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke

03-10-2006, 12:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
SecretMethod70 Human Administrator Location: Chicago	EXCELLENT work derwood, I'm very impressed as someone who has spent a whole lot of time performing. __________________ Le temps détruit tout "Musicians are the carriers and communicators of spirit in the most immediate sense." - Kurt Elling

03-10-2006, 12:30 AM	#10 (permalink)
onodrim Cosmically Curious Location: Chicago, IL	Oh wow! I just noticed - you were doing work at Illinois Wesleyan while I was a freshman/sophomore there! If I had been smart and gotten out of the crap music school and into the good theare school instead as a music theatre major like I should have done, we could have worked together for real! What a small world though, IWU is smaller than my high school, and I still manage to come across someone on the web who has a connection there! (as an example of the crap music school Our opera which is opening this weekend is a collection of operetta scenes, we have no set, were responsible for our own costumes, and the lighting is a few twenty year old spots run by cast members from the balcony.......the theatre school, well, you saw Derwood's work. ) __________________ "The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides" -Carl Sagan

03-10-2006, 11:25 AM	#14 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	The most I ever got paid to design a show was probably $1500. You figure you have to design 20 shows a year at that rate just to make $30,000. That's ludicrous. __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-10-2006, 11:51 AM	#15 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	Some of my drawing/painting. Clearly light is my artistic medium (he he he). All this work was at Northwestern. Pencil Study Pen and Ink Study Painting Study (Gouache I think) Flat Rendering of Antigone Set Design (Acrylic, Modeling Paste, Gouache) Costume Study (Watercolor, Pen and Ink) Clearly why I'm not a Costume Designer Pencil Study (Michelangelo) Pencil Study (Original Work "in the style" of previous study) Paint Elevation for scenic arch (Gouache) - Midsummer Night's Dream Paint Elevation of flower scenery (Marker) - Midsummer Night's Dream Photo of Midsummer Night's Dream (stupid lighting designer didn't put ANY light on my arch, so you can barely see it. Too bad, it was beautifully painted by the staff scenic artist) __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel Last edited by Derwood; 03-10-2006 at 11:55 AM..

03-16-2006, 03:58 PM	#16 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	So, my design funk may be over. I've been offered a job to design a brand new play by Mary Zimmerman (she wrote/directed "Metamorphisis" on Broadway and across the country). I just have to work out the logistics of getting to Chicago for 3 weeks, who will watch the kids, etc. If it works out I'll be pretty psyched, as Mary's shows tend to have more than one production, and it would be my first show that got remounted in other theatres (and possibly Broadway, but let's not get ahead of ourselves). Wish me luck! __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-16-2006, 04:56 PM	#17 (permalink)
MooseMan3000 wouldn't mind being a ninja. Location: Maine, the Other White State.	Holy crap. Good luck with that! I'm sure you won't disappoint - from what I've seen here, your work is fantastic. I'll see if I can locate some pictures of my lighting and set design pieces - though compared to what you've shown us, they'll probably seem downright amateur.

03-16-2006, 08:14 PM	#18 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	thanks for the kind words. I was fortunate to attend two fabulous schools and work with some of Chicago's best directors. and for whatever reason, I "see" light. I can't draw or paint for shit anymore, but light is the medium I was programmed to work in __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-20-2006, 06:38 PM	#20 (permalink)
nrclark Tilted Location: Canada	great work ... plain and simple

03-20-2006, 07:21 PM	#21 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	Thanks. Hopefully this theatre gets back to me here soon so I can figure out if I'm doing this show or not. It opens in June but that's a pretty tight timeframe for me when you start backtracking to when stuff is due, travel arrangements, etc. __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-26-2006, 05:08 PM	#22 (permalink)
doodlebird pío pío Location: on a branch about to break	nice work all around derwood. keep us posted about your job progress. __________________ xoxo doodle

03-28-2006, 04:03 AM	#23 (permalink)
Derwood Who You Crappin? Location: Everywhere and Nowhere	Gah, the Mary Zimmerman show fell through. They failed to tell me that I was the backup plan in case their first choice designer couldn't work out her schedule. I guess they came to an agreement so I'm out of the running. So it goes __________________ "You can't shoot a country until it becomes a democracy." - Willravel

03-28-2006, 06:26 AM	#24 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	Wow, that's a pisser. Sorry to hear that. Maybe you can arrange an "incident" with a loose barn door. __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life

03-30-2006, 04:53 PM	#25 (permalink)
Lewis Artist and author Location: Ireland	Wonderful stuff! Thanks for sharing it. I have a belief that if something you think you want falls through, it must mean that there's something better for you coming up! I hope that's true for you.