DESIGNER RESEARCH REPORT – SPRING 2021 INTRO TO THEATRICAL DESIGN

Select a significant American or European costume or scenic or lighting designer whose most prominent work was created in
the past 100 years. You will prepare and give an 8-10 minute PowerPoint presentation on your selected designer to the class.
You must practice your presentation before you give it in class so that you do not exceed 10 minutes. You will need to find a
minimum of 3-5 sources for information on your selected designer.

Topics to include:
• Your designer’s significant contributions to the theatre – 3-4 slides minimum focusing on at least 3-4 separate
productions – include production photos, dates, theatre
• Major designs in his/her career
• Background and how he/she got into the theatre – include a slide on his/her training and a slide on how they
broke into Broadway/West End
• Images of his/her design work
• Recurring collaborators or theatre companies that your designer worked with

Grading: The project is worth 15% of your final grade and will be graded on the level of completion of all assigned items,
thoroughness of your research, and variety of research sources.

Deliverables: The project will include:

• PowerPoint file (upload a copy of your presentation to the D2L Dropbox by the due date)
• One page handout including your bibliography (use MLA format) – the handout should include outline of your
presentation, bring 1 copy for each student in class

You may select your own designer (who must primarily be a theatre designer), or one from the following lists:
Costume Lighting Scenic
Julie Taymor Ken Billington David Korins
Willa Kim Richard Pilbrow Ming Cho Lee
Jules Fisher Jo Mielziner
Desmond Heeley Beverly Emmons John Napier
Theoni V. Aldredge Tharon Musser Stan Meyer
Jane Greenwood Jennifer Tipton Heidi Landesman
Anne Roth Jean Rosenthal Beowulf Boritt
Carrie Robbins Kevin Adams George Tsypin
Tony Walton Howell Binkley John Lee Beatty
Ann Hould-Ward Donald Holder John Conklin
Gregory Gale Kenneth Posner Eugene Lee
Susan Hilferty David Hersey Mimi Lien
Robert Brill
Neil Patel

Schedule:
Week 6 Discuss Designer Research Reports
Week 7 Selection of designer due – Design Process
Week 7 Design Process
Week 8 Work on Designer Research Report
Week 8 Research Presentations in class – all PowerPoint presentations due before class