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44 Student Life Spring 2010

Student Life
Successful theatre productions combine astonishing performances with the work of
talented scenic, prop, costume, makeup, sound, and lighting designers as well as stage
managers who can coordinate the myriad details. Adelphi’s theatre design/technical
program teaches students the skills to become adept stage designers and technicians
by giving them major roles in Adelphi Theatre Department productions.

B ehind the S cenes :

Adelphi Theatre Technicians

Reveal their
“‘Success’ for students in the design/technical
program is about getting to put into practice
the things that they are learning in the class-
room,” says Assistant Professor of Theatre Sarah
Martin. “Production is essentially the laboratory
for experimentation with creative process, collabo-
ration, and a variety of skill sets required to solve
the complexities of design and technical theatre.”  en’s costumes for Talking With. The play focuses
Timothy Bornt ’11 discovered his passion for
scenic design as a sixth grader in Albany, New
York. Nearly a decade later, he designed the set
for the Adelphi Theatre Department’s The Odyssey
(December 12, 2009). Mr. Bornt’s diligent research
entailed reading the play several times, perusing
the pages of 15 books about Minoan and Cretan
art, and analyzing images of the Palace of Knossos.
Mr. Bornt designed the stage floor by using the
false perspective technique. It required drawing
large pieces of stone in the foreground and small
ones in the background, creating the illusion of
depth on the stage.
“I had complete artistic freedom,” Mr. Bornt says.
“After I met with the director [Kerry Prep ’79], I got
to pick everything on my own.” Seeing the stage
materialize from concept to a life-size set was his
favorite part of the process.
Katie Cochran ’12 is an acting major with a pen-
chant for costume design. She created 11 wom-
on women’s lives in Oz, the fictional setting of L.
Frank Baum’s renowned novel The Wizard of Oz.
“It’s about 11 women spilling their hearts about
everyday challenges,” Ms. Cochran says.
Before creating the dresses that display significant
elements in the characters’ lives through sewn-on
patch collages, Ms. Cochran conducted compre-
hensive research. She read the monologues, con-
sulted the actresses, and viewed photographs and
paintings of the book’s time period.
Intrigued by how makeup artists can transform
young, beautiful actors and actresses into older, un-
prepossessing people for plays and films, Katie
Perpall ’12 decided to learn the art of makeup.
agic
1 2
Research is crucial in creating a character’s
makeup, according to Ms. Perpall. For a given
play, she browses through periodicals, mov-
ies, and the Internet to discover a play’s time
period. She then creates a makeup plot for
each character, a sheet of paper with a blank
face, which she uses to study and experiment
with the lips, cheeks, eyebrows, bone struc-
ture, and eyes. The final design stage entails
transposing her vision from the sheet of
paper to her own face.
“Artistic expression is vital in our field,” Ms.
Perpall says. “Our artistic freedom to develop
our characters’ makeup is encouraged by our
professors here at Adelphi.”
Ms. Perpall respects the basic guidelines for
her characters’ look, but has the freedom to
add her own touch, as long as it matches the
time period. “I always talk to my professors
about makeup choices,” she says. “It is always
a collaboration of ideas.”
Matthew Zafutto ’11 has a proclivity
3
for lighting design, being the son of
a sound designer.
“I wanted to do something that challenges me, 4
not sitting at the desk all day,” he says. “I’d
like to work on larger shows such as the VMA
[MTV Video Music Awards].”
A versatile student adept with technology, Mr.
Zafutto occasionally serves as a sound engi-
neer. He has worked for various Adelphi plays
including RENT, Search and Surrender, and The
Trestle at Pope Lick Creek and appreciates Adelphi’s
theatre design/technology program because it Timothy Bornt ’11 (left) and
offers a practical, well-rounded education. Matthew Zafutto ’11 combine
1
lighting with stage design in
More information about the program is online the control room.
at academics.adelphi.edu/artsci/pfa Katie Cochran ’12 details one of
2 the 11 costumes she created for
By Ana Barbu ’10 Talking With.
Online The stories of four more Katie Cochran ’12 (front left), Megan
Adelphi theatre designers and Newell ’10, Rebecca Lorch ’12, Katie
technicians as well as more behind- 3 Perpall ’12 (back left), and Jillian
Kerkhoff ’12 showcase their aged
the-scenes photos. faces through the art of makeup
The story continues... Tracy Cowit ’11 has managed the
become a fan of Adelphi University Magazine. 4 props and designed the sound for
Adelphi productions.