Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2011 - 61

photo courtesy of umkc

Director Mary Zimmerman (left) stretches Ann Keebaugh's imagination with some
ideas for designing Homer's The Odyssey.

Santo Loquasto engages students in a discussion of Chekhov's The Seagull.
photo courtesy of umkc

final projects after an intense design session with a leading professional in the field. Those same students in nineteenth-century
France might have grimaced over la charrette's prior usage. It
was the cart that delivered the condemned to the guillotine.
By the twentieth century, some of America's leading architecture schools had implemented the charrette, including
MIT and Yale. But there was nothing like it in theatrical design.
Ezell seized an opportunity. His intention was "to go beyond the
master class...to bring an infusion of glamour to the program
and to the Midwest...to expose the students to extraordinary
artists they'd not have access to otherwise...to offer invaluable
contributions to their portfolios."
UMKC's inaugural charrette in 1994 set the bar high with
Mary Zimmerman as guest artist. She had recently earned international acclaim with her innovative production The Notebooks
of Leonardo Da Vinci at Lincoln Center. Ezell gave Zimmerman
carte blanche, and her challenge to the students was to take on
The Odyssey, the same project Zimmerman would masterfully
adapt and direct in 1999 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre.
The charrettes that followed were no less grand. Woody
Allen's favorite production designer and multiple Tony Awardwinner Santo Loquasto was next in line. Among the many attributes he is known for, Loquasto's interpretation of Chekhovian
theatre is supreme. At the time of his visit, The Seagull was the
one outstanding piece that Loquasto had not yet touched; it was
a natural jumping off point for collaboration. The renowned
Fiona Shaw came next and proved that a worldly-wise actress
could give theatrical design a kick in the pants. Having just
come off of a run in an overblown West End production, Shaw
challenged the aspiring designers to get on the stage and experience, through acting exercises and then through their own
designs, the difference between truth and artifice.
As the years passed, Ezell never let up on his quest for the
brightest stars. With a running history of seventeen annual charrettes, the scope of designers has been vast, crossing all disciplines.
Charrettes with Thomas Walsh, president of the Art Directors Guild,
and costume designer Deborah Landis exposed the students to the
ultimate level of production design for film and television. Luminary of European design Ralph Koltai put the "Paris of the Plains"
on his agenda. European sculptor, architect, and opera designer
George Tsypin graced the campus and set the students' sights on
Das Rheingold. Assistant professor of design Gene Friedman remembers, "People around the country were floored that we were
able to get an artist of that international magnitude."
Students of the 2008 charrette were literally sent on a wild
ride by charrette masters Doug Enderle, Kim Conway Wilson,
Mark Wilson, and Trad Burns. Three were UMKC alumni who
had since become significant contributors of design in the

Student E.J. Reinagel (gesturing) presents his design ideas to theme park
designer Sue Sessions.
theme park industry. During this intensive, the epic figures of
the Monkey King from China's Peking Opera and the Monkey
General Hanuman from the Indian Ramayana, became the inspiration for themed attractions. Charrette participant Jason Coale remarked, "This was one of the most rewarding educational
experiences of my life." He was in fact hired as a direct result of
the charrette and now has a résumé that boasts substantial work
in themed entertainment and theatrical design.
With Kim's visit, Ezell's aspiration to "infuse glamour'"could
not have been more fully realized. We know her name as an icon in
ballet, opera, and theatre. The students knew of the Tonys, Emmys,
Obies, Drama Desks, and numerous lifetime achievement awards
that capture only a slice of her prolific work. But from the moment
Kim set foot in the classroom, she connected with the students on
a personal level and shared both the artistic and anecdotal highlights that took her from art student/activist to design deity.
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2011

theatre design

& technology

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2011