A Discussion With ‘American Idiot’ Set Designer Thomas Umfrid

The curtain rises on CCM’s production of Green Day’s punk rock-opera American Idiot  at 8 p.m. on Thursday, March 3, but the behind-the-scenes work has been going on for months. Much of the design process for a musical must be completed before actors even step into the rehearsal hall, but the work doesn’t end there. It continues all the way to opening night.

Thomas Umfrid, American Idiot set designer and Professor of Stage Design at CCM, is no stranger to the process. His career has taken him around the world, designing for opera, drama, musical theatre, dance and more. We were able to tear him away from his hectic schedule leading up to opening night to give us a little insight about his design.

Talk about the overall design for American Idiot and how you came up with it.

An image from ground zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attack in New York City.

Director Aubrey Berg came up with the design concept, a lot of which is based on iconographic 9/11 imagery, which I then developed into the design.

This project has an overriding environmental conceit and isn’t supposed to be any particular time or place.  It’s a space that evokes a dark and pessimistic mood and serves the loosely episodic stage action.

The music and lyrics aren’t pretty or glamorous, they ’re down and dirty. So is the set.

How does the set help tell the story?

Although the story deals with events passing in time and inter-related characters, it doesn’t necessitate “in focus” scenic environments, time of day or symbolic references to actual places.

For example, the characters go to New York, but the city isn’t directly rendered in any particularly recognizable way. It could be any big western city where marginalized and drugged out suburban youth have fled to try and find themselves, and in so doing, get terribly lost in the process.

How close is the actual product on stage to the initial ideas?

There is always a natural, and expected, “page to stage” evolution of a set design from the scale model and mechanical drawings to the real thing sitting on stage.

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My student, staff and faculty colleagues have done an incredible job of developing and translating Aubrey’s and my ideas to the stage. When the cast moves into the theater and begins to explore the, at times, 28 foot high stage after weeks of rehearsal in a rather neutral and barrier free rehearsal hall, I’ll have a much better idea of how successful we’ve been in translating our ideas to the stage. This is always a crucial and exciting phase of any show.

What was most important to you to convey through the set?

I hope the audience will be subconsciously affected by the environment and, rather than notice anything in particular about the set, have a visceral reaction as they experience the show as a whole entity.
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American Idiot runs March 3 – 13 at CCM’s Patricia Corbett Theater. This production contains mature subject matter, including references to drug use, sexual content and profanity. Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/mainstage/american-idiot.

CCM’s Mainstage Series production of Green Day’s ‘American Idiot’ plays March 3 – 13, 2016.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

American Idiot is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. 421 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 | Phone: 212-541-4684 | Fax: 212-397-4684 | www.MTIShows.com

CCM Announces 2015-16 Mainstage Series of Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama and Dance

CCM is pleased to announce details for its 2015-16 Mainstage Series of opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions. Between Sept. 30, 2015, and April 24, 2016, CCM’s stars-of-tomorrow will present seven masterworks for the stage under the guidance of its internationally acclaimed faculty artists.

These works include David Edgar’s epic drama Pentecost, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical Carousel, Franz Lehár’s comedic operetta The Merry Widow, Eugene O’Neill’s acclaimed coming-of-age story Ah, Wilderness!, Green Day’s iconic punk rock musical American Idiot, Janácek’s farcical opera The Cunning Little Vixen and Tchaikovsky’s beloved romantic ballet Swan Lake.

Production details are listed below. Details on subscription packages and single ticket sales will be announced this summer.

Visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/subscribe to register for CCM’s mailing list, and the Box Office will provide you with additional information on this year’s subscription options.

Additional Information
Titles and dates are subject to change—rights pending. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.
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CCM 2015-16 MAINSTAGE SERIES
Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama, Dance

Pentecost
Written by David Edgar
Richard E. Hess, director

A play of politics and ideas, Pentecost details the discovery of a painting stunningly similar to Giotto di Bondone’s The Lamentation in an abandoned church in Eastern Europe. If proven to pre-date the master’s work, the fresco will revolutionize Western Art. A dramatic power struggle ensues, as representatives from the worlds of art history, religion and politics stake their claims for the ultimate prize. The unexpected arrival of 12 refugees sets events spiraling toward an explosive climax. Described by the Daily Telegraph as “funny, frightening and deeply moving,” this powerful play by the Tony Award-winning adapter of Nicholas Nickleby and author of numerous plays won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play of 1995.

Performance Dates: Sept. 30 (preview), Oct. 1–4, 2015
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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Carousel
Music by Richard Rodgers
Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Based on the play Liliom by Ferenc Molnar
As Adapted by Benjamin F. Glazer
Original Dances by Agnes de Mille
Diane Lala, director

Set in a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, Carousel is the story of carefree carnival barker Billy Bigelow and his reckless adventures with women, gambling and the wrong side of the law. Billy loses his job just as he learns that his wife is pregnant and, desperate to provide a decent life for his family, is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught in the act and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent “up there.” 15 years later, Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day and encounters the daughter he never knew. How Billy instills in both the child and her mother a sense of hope and dignity is a dramatic testimony to the power of love. Declared “Best Musical of the Century” by Time Magazine in 1999, it’s easy to understand why Carousel became Rodgers and Hammerstein’s personal favorite.

Performance Dates: Oct. 29–Nov. 1, 2015
Location: Corbett Auditorium
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The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe)
Music by Franz Lehár
Libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein
Emma Griffin, director

A 20th century opera molded in the tradition of the great opera seria of the 1700s, The Merry Widow tells a dizzying tale of star-crossed lovers and political intrigue in Paris. Baron Zeta of Pontevedro must prevent the wealthy widow Hanna Glawari from marrying a foreigner; if she does, all of her wealth will leave Pontevedro, thus bankrupting the country. Zeta urges Hanna’s former fiancée Count Danilovich (who pretends to not care for her anymore) to marry her, but Zeta’s wife pushes the flirtatious Camille de Rosillon to go after Hanna instead. Farcical confusion, romance and jealousy abound in this light-hearted romp. Sung in English.

Performance Dates: Nov. 19–22, 2015
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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Ah, Wilderness!
Written by Eugene O’Neill
R. Terrell Finney, director

Set in an idyllic Connecticut town during the Fourth of July weekend of 1906, Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! offers a tender portrait of small town family values, teenage growing pains and young love. Described as “a breath of fresh air” and “vividly alive” by the New York Post and nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival in both 1989 and 1998, this charming comedy is directed by CCM Professor Emeritus R. Terrell Finney.

Performance Dates: Feb. 10 (preview), Feb. 11–14, 2016
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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American Idiot
Book and lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong
Book by Michael Mayer
Music and lyrics by Green Day
Aubrey Berg, director

The two-time Tony Award-winning hit musical American Idiot, based on Green Day’s Grammy Award-winning multi-platinum album of the same name, boldly takes the American musical where it’s never gone before. Johnny, Tunny and Will struggle to find meaning in a post-9/11 world. When the three disgruntled men flee the constraints of their hometown for the thrills of city life, their paths diverge when Tunny enters the armed forces, Michael is called back home to attend familial responsibilities, and Johnny’s attention becomes divided by a seductive love interest and a hazardous new friendship. An energy-fueled rock opera, American Idiot features minimal dialogue and instead relies on the lyrics from Green Day’s groundbreaking album to execute the story line.

Performance Dates: March 3–13, 2016
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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The Cunning Little Vixen (Príhody lišky Bystroušky)
Composed by Leoš Janácek
Libretto by Leoš Janácek (after Rudolf Tesnohlídek)
Vince DeGeorge, director

Based on a famous 1920s Czech comic strip, Janácek’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen humorously explores the universal longing for youth. The three main characters – all older men – attempt to connect to their younger days through various means: one longs for a village girl, one obsesses over a childhood indiscretion and one chases a young vixen through the countryside. Will they continue to cling to their delusions? Or will their experiences help them come to terms with the inevitability of time? Sung in English.

Performance Dates: April 8–10, 2016
Location: Patricia Corbett Theater
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Swan Lake
Composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Jiang Qi, director

Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet about love and magic returns to CCM in a fully-staged spectacle! The young Prince Siegfried, disinterested in the potential wives that his mother has picked for him, heads into the woods to hunt one night and comes across a beautiful swan…who then turns into the maiden Odette! She tells him of the curse she and others have been placed under by the evil knight Rothbart, forcing them to become swans by day and human by night. Siegfried instantly falls in love, but will he and Odette be able to overcome the curse, or will Rothbart succeed in keeping his enchantment intact?

Performance Dates: April 22–24, 2016
Location: Corbett Auditorium
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Mainstage Series Subscriptions
The 2015-16 CCM Mainstage Series of opera, musical theatre and drama productions includes subscription packages for six-show, four-show and three-show combinations. Subscribers also have the ability to add the Mainstage Series production of Swan Lake to any subscription package “a la carte.”

Full details on subscription packages and single ticket sales will be announced this summer. CCM’s customizable subscription packages range in price from $84 – $180. Current subscribers will get priority access to next season’s subscription packages.

Visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/subscribe to register for CCM’s mailing list, and the Box Office will provide you with additional information on this year’s subscription options.
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave
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A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.

Titles and dates are subject to change—rights pending. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

Tony Award-Winning Scenic Designer David Gallo Visits CCM

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Last week, CCM’s Theatre Design & Production students were given a special treat: a visit from acclaimed scenic and projection designer David Gallo. With designs spanning the gamut from Broadway musicals to rock concert tours, Gallo’s work is highly respected in the field, evidenced by his Tony Award for Best Scenic Design, the Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Set Design (The Drowsy Chaperone, 2006).

CCM Professor Designs Set for Toledo Ballet’s “Nutcracker”

CCM Professor and Senior Resident Scenic Designer Thomas C. Umfrid designed a new set for use in the second act of a Nutcracker performance by the Toledo Ballet. View the Toledo Blade’s coverage here. You can view more of Umfrid’s work here.