The Podcast
hosted by
performance designer Maureen Weiss
+ set designer Sibyl Wickersheimer
produced by Téa Chura
music by Claire McKeown
In this series…
Scene Shift: The Podcast focuses on conversation between theatrical set designers to convey the process and collaborations that theatre makers rely on. Traditionally designers have played a support role, considered as 'backstage' but the scope of design elements is growing. Today the boundary between design and performance has shifted and designers actively share the stage with performers. Set designers come together to share and uplift their expanding roles in theatre making.
watch the teaser
episodes.
episodes.
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Sibyl Wickersheimer
Co-Curator & Co-Author
Los Angeles, CA
Sibyl designs inside and outside of theatre spaces. Her interests span from immersive installations and museum exhibitions to design for mental health care. Sibyl teaches set design as associate professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Read full bio.
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Maureen Weiss
Co-Curator & Co-Author
Los Angeles, CA
Maureen Weiss is a performance designer who has worked in all aspects of theatre and design for over 25 years. She is associate professor of set design at Los Angeles City College. She also curates a mobile theatre truck, The PopWagon. Read full bio.
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Regina Garcia
Chicago, IL
Regina is a Puerto Rican scenic designer and an organizing member of La Gente: The LatinX Theatre Design Network. She teaches at the Theatre School, DePaul University.
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Collette Pollard
Chicago, IL
Collette is an associate professor of scenic design at the University of Illinois at Chicago, an Associate Artist at Timeline Theatre Company, and serves on the Michael Merritt Awards Committee.
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Abigail DeVille
New York, NY
Abigail creates site-specific, immersive installations that are designed to bring attention to history and culture through material objects, such as with the sculpture she built on the site of a former African American burial ground in Harlem. photo by John Edmonds
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Mimi Lien
Brooklyn, NY
Arriving at set design from a background in architecture, Mimi’s work often focuses on the interaction between audience/environment and object/performer.
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Afsoon Pajoufar
New York, NY
Afsoon is a stage and environment designer for play, opera, and live performance. Her artistic practice often is focused on the intersection of space and new technologies, including XR and live video.
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Deb O
Brooklyn, NY
Deb’s extensive scenography training and range of experiences — as well as her background in fold art, dance, gymnastics, clowning, puppetry, found object art, sculpture, and mask making — have lent themselves to innovative approaches to the creation of unique theatrical events.
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Shing Yin Khor
Los Angeles, CA
Shing Yin Khor is a game designer and cartoonist based in Los Angeles, CA, by way of Malacca, Malaysia. Their game design work centers around physical storytelling artifacts, divination mechanisms, and immigrant interpretations of nostalgic Americana, and is rooted in their work as a builder and artist - keepsake games centered on the bridge between physical making and traditional tabletop RPGs. Their live mail letter-writing game Remember August won the 2022 Indiecade Award for Best Tabletop Game.
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Yvonne Miranda
Chicago, IL
A United States Marine Corps war veteran, Yvonne traded in her combat boots for a career in costume, fashion, and scenic design where she gets to live out her passions as a visual storyteller.
featured designers.
featured designers.
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Sibyl Wickersheimer
Co-Curator & Co-Author
Los Angeles, CA
Sibyl designs inside and outside of theatre spaces. Her interests span from immersive installations and museum exhibitions to design for mental health care. Sibyl teaches set design as associate professor at the USC School of Dramatic Arts. Read full bio.
-
![]()
Maureen Weiss
Co-Curator & Co-Author
Los Angeles, CA
Maureen Weiss is a performance designer who has worked in all aspects of theatre and design for over 25 years. She is associate professor of set design at Los Angeles City College. She also curates a mobile theatre truck, The PopWagon. Read full bio.
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![]()
Regina Garcia
Chicago, IL
Regina is a Puerto Rican scenic designer and an organizing member of La Gente: The LatinX Theatre Design Network. She teaches at the Theatre School, DePaul University.
-
![]()
Collette Pollard
Chicago, IL
Collette is an associate professor of scenic design at the University of Illinois at Chicago, an Associate Artist at Timeline Theatre Company, and serves on the Michael Merritt Awards Committee.
-
![]()
Abigail DeVille
New York, NY
Abigail creates site-specific, immersive installations that are designed to bring attention to history and culture through material objects, such as with the sculpture she built on the site of a former African American burial ground in Harlem. photo by John Edmonds
-
![]()
Mimi Lien
Brooklyn, NY
Arriving at set design from a background in architecture, Mimi’s work often focuses on the interaction between audience/environment and object/performer.
-
![]()
Afsoon Pajoufar
New York, NY
Afsoon is a stage and environment designer for play, opera, and live performance. Her artistic practice often is focused on the intersection of space and new technologies, including XR and live video.
-
![]()
Deb O
Brooklyn, NY
Deb’s extensive scenography training and range of experiences — as well as her background in fold art, dance, gymnastics, clowning, puppetry, found object art, sculpture, and mask making — have lent themselves to innovative approaches to the creation of unique theatrical events.
-
![]()
Shing Yin Khor
Los Angeles, CA
Shing Yin Khor is a game designer and cartoonist based in Los Angeles, CA, by way of Malacca, Malaysia. Their game design work centers around physical storytelling artifacts, divination mechanisms, and immigrant interpretations of nostalgic Americana, and is rooted in their work as a builder and artist - keepsake games centered on the bridge between physical making and traditional tabletop RPGs. Their live mail letter-writing game Remember August won the 2022 Indiecade Award for Best Tabletop Game.
-
![]()
Yvonne Miranda
Chicago, IL
A United States Marine Corps war veteran, Yvonne traded in her combat boots for a career in costume, fashion, and scenic design where she gets to live out her passions as a visual storyteller.
hosted by
performance designer Maureen Weiss
+ set designer Sibyl Wickersheimer
produced by Téa Chura
music by Claire McKeown
In this series…
Scene Shift: The Podcast focuses on conversation between theatrical set designers to convey the process and collaborations that theatre makers rely on. Traditionally designers have played a support role, considered as 'backstage' but the scope of design elements is growing. Today the boundary between design and performance has shifted and designers actively share the stage with performers. Set designers come together to share and uplift their expanding roles in theatre making.
“What is the nature of the
event that we’re making?”
- Mimi Lien
Scene Shift: The Exhibit is a chance for the audience to get up close and personal with the work of contemporary scenic designers. Every designer has a different story to tell, sometimes that story is translated into art, and sometimes it is theatre. Inspired by the book, Scene Shift: US Set Designers in Conversation, the exhibit will feature work by Abigail DeVille, Marsha Ginsberg, Shing Yin Khor, Mimi Lien, Collette Pollard, and Deb O among others.