A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Scenic Design of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Amy Shackleton, Toronto-based gravity artist, demonstrating her technique to CCM students.

To ignite its 2012-13 Mainstage Season, CCM will be presenting one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, from Oct. 3 (preview) – 7 in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

The play takes us on a wistful journey with four lovers and a weaver as they interact with some Puck-ish pranks in the wood. Director Michael Burnham and fellow designers add a spin to this version of the show as we find ourselves in the summer of 1963, right before the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Learn more about how this spin influenced the show’s costume design here.

As previously reported, international artist Amy Shackleton joins the design team of CCM’s  A Midsummer Night’s Dream to engage in a unique collaboration, creating an original piece of art. Amy’s process was documented and will set the backdrop for this production.

Discussing ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Costumes with Student Designer Brittany McManus

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Brittany McManus is a third-year master’s degree student in costume design. Along with the production’s scenic designer, lighting designer, sound designer and wig & make-up designer (all of whom are third-year graduate students at CCM), McManus’ work on A Midsummer Night’s Dream is serving as her thesis project.

McManus’ unique costume design concepts for this production draw inspiration from the 1960s. “We are doing three different groups of people,” she explains. “The 60s are when the countercultures really emerge, so you start to see these different facets of society in a way that you may have seen before… but not to this extent.”

CCM Drama Opens Mainstage Season with ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Megan Marshall as Hippolyta and Trey Wright as Nick Bottom in CCM’s Mainstage Production of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) will present a nostalgic new take on the Bard of Avon’s adored and enduring A Midsummer Night’s Dream from Oct. 3 (preview) through 7 in Patricia Corbett Theater. This comedic dalliance of magic and young love will be presented with a wistful and unprecedented 1960s concept, and will also feature an original work of art by renowned Canadian visual artist Amy Shackleton.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream explores the adventures of a quartet of Athenian lovers, a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals) and their encounters with the fairies who control and manipulate them, including Puck, one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated characters. The setting of 1963 presents a new concept organically and creatively orchestrated by director Michael Burnham and costume designer Brittany McManus.

CityBeat Spotlights CCM’s ‘The Rake’s Progress’ as ‘One Hell of a Collaboration’

Anne Arenstein takes a detailed look at the collaborative efforts that went into CCM’s production of The Rake’s Progress in this week’s issue of CityBeat (on newsstands now and available digitally here).

The Rake’s Progress runs at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 10 and Saturday, May 12, with a 2 p.m. matinee performance scheduled for Sunday, May 13.

Learn more about the opera here.

CCM Slideshow: Behind the Scenes of ‘The Rake’s Progress’

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Today, CCM Technical Director Stirling Shelton provides a behind-the-scenes look at some of the work that went into our final Mainstage production of the season, The Rake’s Progress, opening this Thursday, May 10.

Learn more about the opera here.

CCM Props Artisan Earns Industry Interest With A “Fake Food Feast”

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The April 29th issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer spotlighted the work of CCM MFA candidate  Karestin Harrison, who was invited to present her “Fake Food Feast and Cook Book” showcase at this year’s United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) National Conference in Long Beach in late March.

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).

Join Us Beginning Feb. 23 As We Go ‘Into The Woods’

CCM Voice Students Receive Competition Honors

Six CCM voice students were named winners of CCM’s 2011 Opera Scholarship Competition, which was held Saturday, April 2 in CCM’s Corbett Auditorium. The annual competition welcomes current and incoming CCM voice students to compete for scholarships and cash prizes, and a panel of judges composed of opera industry professionals selects each year’s class of prizewinners. See the full list of 2011 winners after the jump.

CCM’s Opera Scholarship Competition Celebrates Excellence in Vocal Performance

CCM will provide local audiences with a first glimpse of tomorrow’s opera stars during the 2011 Opera Scholarship Competition running from 10 a.m. – 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, April 2 in Corbett Auditorium.

25 top young artists will compete for nearly $135,000 in tuition grants and $75,000 in other named awards, including the Corbett Award, Italo Tajo Memorial Award, Andrew White Memorial Award, Seybold-Russell Award, Artman/Straub Award and John Alexander Memorial Award.

Admission is free and open to the general public and audience members will have a chance to weigh in on this year’s competition with the introduction of a new “Audience Favorite” award.