Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2006 - 37

■

JUDGES

■
Ms. Venberg and Mr. Owen were interviewed together. These are
their thoughts about Design Expo 2006. -ed.

Lorraine Venberg has been the
resident costume designer at Actors
Theatre of Louisville for four years,
where she has designed nineteen
mainstage shows and nine Humana
Festival shows, including the 20052006 season's Act a Lady and Natural
Selection. In the past twenty-five-odd
years, her designs have been seen at
City Theatre Company, Victory Garden
Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse,
Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Arden
Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival,
and Weston Playhouse.

LORRAINE VENBERG
Costume Designer
Actors Theatre of Louisville

"The projects in this exhibition were very diverse, not just because
there were academic and non-academic productions, but also because of the variety of presentation materials and methods. This attention to the presentations made the judging experience more pleasant.
"On some panels, however, it was hard to find critical information
about the designer or the production. Some designers labeled their
work clearly, some didn't. Also, some designers showed their process
more clearly than others.
"Documenting lighting design is always difficult-it can be hard to
tell the difference between good lighting and good photography-but
many of the lighting design exhibits did an excellent job of capturing
moments that highlighted the qualities of the designs. It was also exciting to see designers in all the categories sharing their design process. When you are comparing designers to one another, it's
important to understand as much as possible about them. Do they understand materials and do they have a real idea how things are made?
"There was a nice mix of design work being done by hand and with
the aid of computers. A while ago, it seemed that everyone wanted to
show off their CAD skills. Now, even though nearly all designers are
familiar with computers, they seem more selective about when they
use them. Several students at the Young Designers Forum [a student
design colloquium that is not part of Design Expo] said that while
they are learning to use computer design software, they don't use it
very much.
"The process is very important. Some sketches showed evidence of
being cleaned up, even to the extent of whiting out some notes. One
designer said he painted his elevations and then scanned it so he
could fix it up in Photoshop. That's unnecessary. I like to see the
notes and the thumb prints and the personal touches. They are part of
the design process. Also, these days, when freelance designers almost
never work on site, the ability to communicate design intentions to
others is critical."

PAUL OWEN
Scenic Designer
Actors Theatre of Louisville

Paul Owen has been the resident scenic designer at Actors Theatre of Louisville for over
thirty-five years, during which time he designed the majority of the theatre's mainstage
productions and nearly all the new plays in the Humana Festival. At last count, his
prodigious work in Louisville totals well over 600 shows. Many times he also designed the
costumes and the lighting. Owen is a frequent guest designer at regional theatres such as
ACT in Seattle, Syracuse Stage, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and Florida Stage. Prior to
coming to Louisville, he was resident designer at the Alley Theatre in Houston for ten years.

THEATRE

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY
SUMMER

2006

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