University Of Houston Gives Audiences A Chance to Meet The Designer Of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEGIN EARNEST

Meet the Designer Dana Harrell - Scenic Design of The Importance of Being Earnest

This new series of articles will get inside the brains of our talented MFA students in the Design and Technical areas. First up is Dana, who is studying technical direction and was happy to dip her toes into the design pool with our first show this season:

What is your design process like?

Being my first set design, the process was very new to me. Knowing I was going to construct in real life whatever I doodled on paper, it made every line feel heavy with responsibility, along with an underlying fear of not getting it right. I have built over 150 sets for major regional theaters designed by many top-notch designers. AND I'll say that building other people's ideas is easy, building your own is difficult.

What was a surprising challenge?

Me, myself and I found it difficult to agree on the simple things; what color should the chaise be? Should there be a rug in Algernon's apartment? How should the cucumber sandwiches be arranged? THEY'RE CUCUMBER SANDWICHES! WHO CARES! For the Record: as a Technical Director I will never underestimate the degree of difficulty for a Designer to make a final decision.

Tell us about your vision for the set.

I felt I could not serve the wealth of the characters of the play without inspiration from the Art Nouveau Movement that took place during the period of the play (1890's). The Director defined each of the characters--early in the process--as birds, each very distinct and particular. From that I thought I would cage them, yet give them the freedom of flight. The design serves as a aviary of sorts, a simple environment that will transform with slight changes into several different locales.

Opens October 9
Tickets on sale now: call 713-743-2929
For more about our production, visit our website:http://www.theatredance.uh.edu/onstage/quintero_1.asp

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