The Riffe Gallery Presents the Magic of American Stage Design

February 10 – April 17, 2005

Nena Couch, Curator and Professor, The Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, The Ohio State University

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery will present an exhibition bringing the magic of the stage to the gallery February 10 – April 17, 2005. Design for the American Stage: Treasures from The Ohio State University’s Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute spans from the late 1800s into the 21st century and includes professional American theatre design for drama and comedy, musical theatre, opera, dance, and outdoor spectacle. The exhibition, which includes 63 works by more than 40 artists, is curated by Nena Couch, professor of theatre at The Ohio State University.

Through their set, costume and lighting work, designers make the onstage world real for us and, at the same time, create documentation that remains as a reminder of the performance and a record of the design process. The artists represented in Design for the American Stage range from acknowledged masters of American stage design throughout the 20th century to contemporary designers. The master designers in the exhibition are among those who have greatly influenced the development of American stage design. Many have taught either formally or by taking apprentices.

View the press release for this exhibition.

Tour some of the works that will be on display!

There are 9 images contained within this archive which are intended for personal/educational use only. These images are protected by a 2005 photographic copyright which belongs to the Ohio Arts Council. They, therefore, are not in the public domain.

Boris Aronson, set design for Sadie Thompson, Alvin Theatre, New York, 1944; ink and watercolor on paper, 14.5" x 22"	Eugene Berman, costume design for Otello, Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1963; gouache and ink on paper, 10.5" x 7"	Lloyd Burlingame, set design for The Astrakhan Coat, Broadway, 1966; gouache on illustration board, 9.75" x 19.75"

Franco Colavecchia, set design for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Folger Shakespeare, Washington, D.C., 1977; acrylic and ink on paper, 11" x 15"	Ray Diffen, costume design for Hamlet, American Shakespeare Festival Theatre, Stratford, Connecticut, 1964; watercolor and pencil on paper, 15" x 11"	Mordecai Gorelik, set design for King Hunger, Hedgerow Theatre, Media, Penn., 1924; tempera and ink on board, 18" x 27"

Robert Edmond Jones, set design for Gloriana, unidentified production; pen and brush, and ink on paper, 12" x 13"	Raoul Pène Du Bois, set design for Wonderful Town, Winter Garden Theatre, New York City, 1953; tempera on paper, 5.75" x 8.75"	Patricia Zipprodt, costume designs for Katerina Ismailova, New York City Opera, 1965; watercolor and ink on paper, 30" x 32"

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