Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2021 - 38

from their peers was
heartwarming.
Students shared that they were inspired
by another student's work (rendering,
composition, etc.) and the individual
would beam. Many commented on the
desire to incorporate techniques they
saw other students use into their own
work in the future. One team was fortunate
to have a sound designer on the
team, Lex Allenbaugh from West Virginia
University. Allenbaugh's presentation of
sound design aurally reinforced the conceptual
world that the team had created.
Professor
Kamminga-Peck
Emily Bishop's (WVU) costume renderings-Team Indigo. | Image courtesy Tammy Honesty.
remarked
how the sound choices amplified the
other designers' work and wished each
team had the opportunity to have a sound
designer.
Reflections and Refinements
Reflecting on the process, faculty gained
a number of perspectives to consider the
next time they embark on such a collaboration,
including the following.
Feedback Approaches: As a faculty
Taylor Dahlberg's (WIU) director's concept-Team Indigo. | Image courtesy Tammy Honesty.
Brandi Alexander's (UH) white model-Team Indigo. | Image courtesy Tammy Honesty.
included the review for seven teams.
On May 6, the seven teams had 20-25
minutes to present their final designs as
if they were presenting them to the cast
on first day of rehearsal or to group of
38 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | FALL 2021
sponsors. For this meeting, the faculty
empowered the students to react and
comment first on their peers' work before
the faculty responded. Watching
how the students received the feedback
member, I felt like it was an extremely
valuable project for my students and
for myself. My students experienced a
variety of feedback that was delivered
differently and from new respondents.
They had to develop their own method of
working with other people from different
backgrounds. For me, it was inspiring to
hear how other faculty approached a design
or script, gave feedback, and guided
their students. From my standpoint, it
provided a fairly accurate simulation of
designing for a LORT theatre, with the
exception that when you are hired as a
professional designer, you don't usually
have your design critiqued in the early
germination stages by a panel. If I do
this again, I will have fewer teams, which
would provide the opportunity a longer
conversation with individual teams as
I would in the classroom. Three groups
during one meeting time would provide
a little more time for discussion and
limit the Zoom fatigue. Responding to a
feedback survey at the end of the project,
students noted the most rewarding part
of the project was connecting with new
people and the feedback they received
from faculty and other students.
Collaboration and Process: " The collaboration
that sparked from this, for my
group specifically, lead to great discussions
of not only theme, but also practical
application, " notes Brian Seckfort
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