About the Design

Designers

KristenHeadshot-4+2 — Kristen Martino is a freelance Scenic Designer based in Chicago, IL. Recently, her work has been seen at Gulfshore Playhouse, Timber Lake Playhouse, Redtwist Theatre, Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre, and Indiana University- where she completed her MFA in Scenic Design. She is the current resident Scenic and Lighting Design mentor for Lake Forest College. Kristen has upcoming productions at theatres including Marriott Theatre, Porchlight Music Theatre, and Music Theatre Works. She is an Associate Scenic Designer for XL Scenic and Kevin Depinet Studios in Chicago where she has had the opportunity to assist with designs at theatres internationally.

902815_10101042597358715_1650449667_o — Christopher Rhoton is a freelance Scenic Designer located in Chicago, Illinois. He holds an M.F.A. in Scenic Design from Indiana University (2015) and a B.S. in Theatre Direction & Design from Middle Tennessee State University (2009)

Screen Shot 2019-06-02 at 9.10.47 PM — Matthew Wofford is based in Chicago, Illinois and recently received his M.F.A. in lighting design from Indiana University. He holds a B.F.A. in theatre design from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and is a long-standing national member of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology. His recent credits include the lighting design for Dames at Sea and The Tempest at Indiana University having spent the summer in Novafeltria, Italy designing La Traviata, Falstaff, and I dialoghi delle Carmelitane for the Voci nel Montefeltro touring opera festival. Other selected credits include: Patricia Racette’s Diva on Detour (The Opera San Antionio), Spring Awakening (TCU), and As You Like It (Indiana Festival Theatre). Matthew has also served as Assistant Lighting Designer for several productions of theatre and opera, most notably with Dallas Theatre Center, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Opera San Antonio, Fort Worth Opera, and The Musical Arts Center at IU. Matthew is currently employed full-time at Centerstage Productions – a full service production company operating out of the greater Chicago area. CSP’s select team of seasoned show professionals know that smart choices and perfect execution are not just a goal, but a requirement.

BREAKING THROUGH BORDERS

Common humanity is embodied by the double helix shape of DNA – the inspiration for the USA Student Exhibit. The swirl of human existence mirrors the excitement of the creative process, reaching out to an audience to see and experience someone else’s world, someone else’s humanity, through the power of theatre.

By allowing viewers to pass freely between all our borders, we celebrate each region’s autonomy and personality.
By crossing borders, we learn of others’ ways of life, and by extension, we learn more about ourselves.
By acknowledging that art and collaboration rise above politics, we welcome each other to see and experience our common humanity.

To this end, United States of America proudly joins with Canada, Mexico and Quebec to form a NORTH AMERICAN exposition space for PQ2019.

For us, Theatre is the ultimate art form, and to borrow from the great playwright, Oscar Wilde, it is “…the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being”.

For the student exhibit from the USA, this common humanity is embodied in the shape of the double helix of DNA, the very thing that carries life, and unites us all as members of the human race. The spiral twisting shape suggests movement, evolution, and excitement – three attributes which also apply to young designers emerging into the profession.

The exuberance of the creative process mirrors the swirl of human existence with its energy, myriad possibilities and sense of hope, and we wish for our exhibit to embody those same ideals. As the theatrical process begins with INSPIRATION, so does our floor – messy, energetic, and covered with pages from the various scripts, stories, and inspirations for the projects exhibited. As ideas begin to form, and COLLABORATION commences, the ideas begin to rise using images of the design processes (sketches, renderings, graphics, plans, and charts). And as we move into PRODUCTION, and begin to share these ideas with an audience, so do the images as they rise, sharing photos from the various featured productions.

The selected designs of this exhibit were submitted by 33 designers, (27 women, 6 men). These designers are based in 19 different states in 12 different cities, and hail from 8 different countries. Indeed, there are ways that America still wishes (and needs) to be a melting pot, and we are proud of that.

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