Archives

Design students share spotlight

Published: March 20, 2003

By DONNA LONGENECKER
Reporter Assistant Editor

Design students in the Department of Theatre & Dance are taking a rare opportunity to bask in the spotlight as they showcase their work in "Empty Spaces 2003: Students Design for Theatre," a celebration of the artistic creativity and sweat equity that goes on behind the scenes for the multiple stage productions featured at UB every year.

The exhibit, on display through March 27 in the Art Department Gallery, Room B45 on the lower level of the Center for the Arts, North Campus, offers a glimpse of the four design elements—costume, lighting, scenic and sound—that were part of set design and construction of 10 recent shows.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Since design students have fewer opportunities for recognition than performing arts students, the exhibit gives them a chance to show off their work, notes Donna Massimo, costume shop manager for the Department of Theatre & Dance and the Center for the Arts who is curating the exhibit.

"There are many students who have fabulous designs that never make it to the stage and the few that do are very fortunate," says Massimo. "I think it will be very interesting for the university community and friends and family to see the nuts and bolts of what goes into a production. How wonderful would it be for people who attend the performances to witness the variety of work we do."

Theatrical design is the conception and planning of the technical aspects of a production to achieve spectacle. Theatre spectacle commonly refers to performance, space, scenery, properties, lighting, sound, costumes and makeup.

Items featured in the "Empty Spaces" exhibit include small-scale models of set designs that students build and use to pitch their design ideas, and costumes that border on the sculptural—many are works of art in the amount of detail and attention given to their creation, explains Massimo. The exhibit also includes portfolio sketches and sound-and-lighting elements.

The exhibit itself has an air of theatricality to it, says Lynne Koscielniak, assistant professor of theatre and dance.

During the pre-production process, design students, in effect, must become historians, interpreting a particular work—whether it be a play, musical or dance performance—based on careful research and understanding of the author/creator's intent, as well as bringing their own unique creative vision to how the work should be represented on stage, Koscielniak points out.

"These are student-driven designs that are mentored by faculty," says, Koscielniak, adding that part of the success of a production involves a lot of student/faculty and staff contact hours.

But student success also is attributed to the amount of critical feedback and support they give to each other, agree Massimo and Koscielniak.

"They are always asking each other a lot of questions and investing a lot of time in their own work," says Koscielniak.

Adds Massimo: "We have so many strong students. They are their own tight little community—not a clique, but a real working group where support is critical."

The preparation for a production is quite intense, with students juggling the needs, demands and personalities of not only directors, but actors and other designers as well. While constructive criticism is a learned skill, so is letting go of one's work, even if it means giving up one's vision completely or collaborating with others and compromising on a shared idea, point out Massimo and Koscielniak. Students complete all phases of a design project, which can take months in some cases, but they do it in addition to their regular course work and outside jobs, adds Massimo.

"The communication aspect, both visually and verbally, is very challenging for students to deal with," says Koscielniak. "They're dealing with directors, designers and actors—the whole cast of a production. Students, in a sense, have to learn to sell their ideas. They have to give the work their own point of view, interpret it and yet remain faithful to the author's intent," she says. "Students are asked to be historians—it's often a very visceral response, but as an artist, you're asked to blend the two things and defend your work."

Notes Massimo: "It's a lot to ask of a non-professional to deal with personalities and hierarchies, and communication is a huge part of that."

But both women emphasize the high level of reinforcement given to students, who must make hundreds of decisions within a very collaborative atmosphere.

"A team really has to exist" long before the curtain goes up, says Massimo.