Design RESUME
Scenic Design | Properties Director
PERFORMANCE SUMMARY:
Music Theatre and Opera scenery and prop design specialist with leadership acumen and a collaborative team based design approach.
– Ability to address ambiguous situations with diplomacy and tact.
– Encourages and leads a culture of mutual respect, communication, and developmental thinking to maximize inspiration and harmony.
– Experience with small and large-scale design and production needs.
– Organized and detail oriented with track record of working in deadline driven environments.
– Solid interpersonal skills coupled with effective creative vision.
– Conceptualizes new works with innovation and style.
SCENIC DESIGN,
FREELANCE
2008 – present
African American Children’s Theatre
Milwaukee Shakespeare
Milwaukee Chamber Theatre
Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Renaissance Theaterworks
Florentine Opera
American Folklore Theater
Northern Sky
First Stage
In Tandem
Milwaukee Opera Theatre
Skylight Music Theatre
Properties Director, Skylight Music Theatre
1990 – present
Twenty-eight seasons of collaborative leadership of the prop creative team- one full time artisan, one full time paid apprentice, flexible over hire of up to five artisans/specialists, and as recruited unpaid interns. Duties include:
– Resourceful budget planning and management, design interpretation/creative problem solving, in-shop fabrication direction and prop acquisition to meet design expectations and production calendar goals/ openings.
– Liaison with guest directors/ designers in responsive design communication/ creative problem solving in support of the creative team’s vision
– Collaborative communication with stage management, lateral shop heads, and administration for effective exchange of information/ideas/ and needs.
– Mentoring of mid-level and junior staff for professional development, safety orientation, and tool training.
– Ambassador of Skylight’s Vision and Style to Skylight stakeholders/Milwaukee/ Wisconsin/ greater national theatre community
education
Master of Fine Arts, Theatre Technology, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1988
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Music and Theatre, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, 1985
ADDITIONAL SKILLS & INTERESTS
– Co-Author: The Properties Director’s Toolkit- Creativity, Collaboration and Communication for Prop Shop Management in the Theatre and Performing Arts Focal Press: Spring 2018
– Adjunct Instructor: UW Milwaukee Department of Theatre: Career Development
– KCACTF prop and scenic design respondent/mentor, Region 3: 2009, 2017, 2018
– Wisconsin State licensed wildlife rehabilitator - Specialty in insectivorous bats (Endangered & Threatened species permit holder)
– AHA First Aid and CPR training
references
Mark Turner
Production Manager
Conservatory of Theatre Arts mark.turner@purchase.edu
Sandra Strawn
Professor Emeritus
Head of Technical Production (1993-2017)
UW-Milwaukee Dept. of Theatre
sjstrawn54@mac.com
Peter Dean Beck
Scenic & Lighting Design
peedeebee@earthlink.net
Kurt Schnabel
Lighting Designer & Design Engineer
Clearwing Systems Integration
kschnabel@clearwing.com
Bill Theisen
Director of Opera
bill-theisen@uiowa.edu
414-803-2324
Ray Jivoff
Artistic Director
Skylight Music Theatre
rayj@skylightmusictheatre.org
Molly Rhode
Associate Artistic Director
Northern Sky Theater
molly@northernskytheater.com
contact
l.a.schlenker@gmail.com | 414-698-9568