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Elaine J. McCarthy

Elaine J. McCarthy
McCarthy in 2003
Born (1966-05-11) May 11, 1966 (age 58)
Woburn, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupationvideo designer

Elaine J. McCarthy (born May 11, 1966) is an American projection and video designer for theater and opera.[1]

Early life

She was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, and grew up in nearby Arlington, Massachusetts.

Intending to study Political Science, McCarthy initially attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C. but found herself drawn to the architectural studio. She subsequently left to take a semester of architectural courses at Harvard University Graduate School of Design then a year at University of Massachusetts Boston studying photography and set design. She eventually enrolled at New York University where she earned a B.F.A. in Photography & Imaging from the Tisch School of the Arts, Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film & Television.[2]

Career

Early career

McCarthy held an administrative job in the early years of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab, where she learned about computers. “I was exposed to the most bleeding-edge technology and everybody in that environment had a point of view to add, whether you were a tenured professor, or, like me, a glorified secretary — it was all part of the mix. That was my first exposure to a barrier-free environment.” This experience led her to the MIT Community Players which was her first exposure to the idea of theater as a potential career. After that she worked with an experimental theater company, the Pilgrim Theater Research and Performance Collaborative. While stage managing for them at the Edinburgh Festival it became clear to her that she wished to pursue a career in theater. She eventually worked her way to New York City working as a design assistant to noted projection designer Wendall K. Harrington through whose studio many of today's top projection design practitioners have passed. This is where she saw her varied interests in technology, art, design, photography, architecture, film and theater come together in one discipline, projection design for theater.”[3]

She has since gone on to work with a diverse group of notable directors including Leonard Foglia, Michael Greif, Kristin Hanggi, Andrei Konchalovsky, James Lapine, Joe Mantello, Michael Mayer, Dejan Miladinović, Mike Nichols, Jack O'Brien, Diane Paulus, Tim Robbins, Peter Sellars, Julie Taymor, John Tillinger and Rob Urbinati.[4]

Broadway

She has many Broadway productions to her credit including After the Fall (2004 revival), Good Vibrations, The Green Bird, Judgment at Nuremberg,[5] the Tony Award nominated productions of Man Of La Mancha (2002 Revival)[1] and Wicked[6] (the 4th longest-running Broadway show[7] and the 10th longest-running West End show) as well as the Tony Award winning productions of Into The Woods (2002 Revival), Assassins and Monty Python's Spamalot.[8]

Opera

She designed projections for Tan Dun's adaptation of The Peony Pavilion at the Wiener Festwochen[9] as well as Tchaikovsky´s Mazeppa[10][11] and the Andrei Konchalovsky directed production of Prokofiev's War and Peace,[12] both co-productions of the Kirov Opera at the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She recently designed Alfredo Catalani's La Wally[13] and Tchaikovsky's rarely performed Iolanta[14] for The Dallas Opera.

In August 2015 McCarthy designed projections for the world premiere of the new opera Cold Mountain composed by Jennifer Higdon with a libretto by Gene Scheer at the Santa Fe Opera.[15]

In the Fall of 2015 McCarthy returned to the Dallas Opera to design projections for the world premier production of Great Scott, a new opera by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally directed by Jack O'Brien with Sets and Costumes by Bob Crowley and Lighting by Brian MacDevitt .[16]

McCarthy designed projections for the world premiere of Jake Heggie's new opera It's a Wonderful Life for the Houston Grand Opera December 2016. The production was directed by Leonard Foglia with Sets by Robert Brill, Lighting by Brian Nason and Costumes by David C. Woolard.[17]

Off Broadway and Regional

Late summer 2016 McCarthy designed projections for the New England premier production of Notes from the Field: Doing Time in Education, created, written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith in Boston at the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) then it moved to New York City's Second Stage Theater that fall. Directed by Leonard Foglia with Set design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting design by Howell Binkley[18]

Fall 2018 McCarthy designed projections for Gloria: A Life, the story of Gloria Steinem at the Daryl Roth Theatre starring Christine Lahti in the title role. It is written by Email Mann and directed by Diane Paulus with scenic design by Amy Rubin, costume design by Jessica Jahn, lighting design by Jeanette Yew and sound design by Leah Gelpe.[19]

Recent and planned projects

McCarthy will design sets and projections for the world premiere of Joby Talbot's new opera The Diving Bell and the Butterfly for the Dallas Opera, originally scheduled for the 2020-21 season but postponed until fall of 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20] The production will be directed by Leonard Foglia with Lighting by Gavin Swift and Costumes by David C. Woolard.[21]

McCarthy designed the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's performance of Haydn: The Creation presented in May 2023. Conducted by Robert Spano.[22]

McCarthy is a frequent collaborator with Director Leonard Foglia. She designed projections for his Off-Broadway production The Stendhal Syndrome;[23] his Broadway productions Thurgood,[24] and The People in the Picture;[25] and his production of the Opera's Dead Man Walking[26] for the New York City Opera as well as the World Premiere productions of Moby-Dick[27] and Everest[28] for the Dallas Opera and El Pasado Nunca se Termina for the Lyric Opera of Chicago for which she designed both Sets and Projections. “What Elaine is able to do,” he says, “is to use my ideas as a departure for her own creativity. She will take my ideas and lift it out to a level I could never have imagined. It's what I pray every designer will do.”[1]

Academic

McCarthy is currently an Adjunct instructor at Boston University College of Fine Arts, School of Theatre[29] and Emerson College.[30] She was previously a Lecturer in Design at the Yale University School of Drama[31] and an Adjunct Instructor at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts and Texas State University and has been a guest lecturer at City University of New York College of Technology, Pace University, University of Alabama, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Wesleyan University, University of Wisconsin, and numerous others.

She has also appeared as a guest speaker at the USITT Conference,[32] Live Design's L.D.I.[33] and Opera America's Opera Conference.

McCarthy is a member of United Scenic Artists local 829 and USITT and was a Lucille Lortel Award voter 2019-2022.[32] McCarthy is an Associate Volunteer for as well as a member of the Steering Committee of The 1/52 Project, founded by Scenic designer Beowulf Boritt in 2022 as a financial grant program financed and run by working designers to encourage early career designers from historically excluded groups.[34]

Awards

In 2020 McCarthy was honored with the USITT Distinguished Achievement Award for Digital Media.[35]

McCarthy's projection design work on Gloria: A Life was recognized with the American Theater Wing's Henry Hewes Design Award Nomination for Notable Effects in August 2019.[36]

In June 2019 McCarthy won a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Projection or Video Design for her work on Everest at the Calgary Opera.[37]

McCarthy was nominated in 2017 for the Drama Desk Award[38] the Lucille Lortel Award[39] and the Henry Hewes Design Award[40] for Outstanding Projection Design for Notes from the Field at Second Stage and for an IRNE Award in the category Large Theater: Best Projection Design for Notes from the Field at the American Repertory Theater.[41]

McCarthy was nominated for Best Video Design for Entertainment Today's Ticketholder Award in 2010 for Thurgood at the Geffen Playhouse.[42]

McCarthy was nominated for the Henry Hewes Design Award in 2009 for Notable Effects[43] for Frequency Hopping produced by the Hourglass Group at the 3LD Arts & Technology Center in New York City for which she designed both the scenery and projections.[44] The production was noted for its use of a fully robotic orchestra as well as McCarthy's utilization of Musion Eyeliner, which is a modern version of the 19th century Pepper's Ghost effect.[45]

McCarthy was nominated for Best Video Design for Entertainment Today's Ticketholder Award in 2007 for the Center Theatre Group's World Premier production of Lisa Loomer's play Distracted at the Mark Taper Forum for which she designed both Sets and Projections[46]

In 2003 she was awarded an Entertainment Design Magazine (now Live Design) Eddy Award for Projection Design Excellence[47]

Personal life

McCarthy is married, has a daughter and lives in Connecticut.[48]

References

  1. ^ a b c David Johnson, "The Next Generation of Projection Design", Live Design, May 1, 2003
  2. ^ Staff (September 6, 2024). "Where Did the Creatives of the 2023–24 Broadway Season Go to School?". Playbill. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Steven McElroy, "From Afterthought to Essential", New York Times, May 18, 2008
  4. ^ Elaine J. McCarthy at the Internet Broadway Database
  5. ^ Simi Horowitz, "The Multi Media Is The Message", Backstage, June 6, 2001
  6. ^ Anita Gates, "The Screen’s Now Setting Many a Stage" New York Times, March 2, 2010
  7. ^ Rebecca Rubin (April 6, 2023). "Wicked to Become Fourth-Longest Running Show in Broadway History". Variety. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  8. ^ David Barbour, "The Prevalence of Projections" Archived 2015-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, American Theatre Magazine, December 2011
  9. ^ "The Peony Pavilion (1998)"
  10. ^ Ralph Blumenthal, "Marching Orders at the Met; 'War and Peace' Climax Calls for a Cast of 346 and a Horse", New York Times, February 11, 2002
  11. ^ Ellen Lampert-Greaux, "Still Life: Russian Roulette", Live Design, April 1, 2006
  12. ^ "War and Peace", Metropolitan Opera Archives
  13. ^ Olin Chism "Review: Dallas Opera hits a double", Star-Telegram, January 31, 2013
  14. ^ Catherine Womack "The Dallas Opera Sheds Beautiful Light on the Rarely Performed Iolanta", D Magazine, April 13, 2015
  15. ^ "2015 SANTA FE OPERA SEASON ANNOUNCED: World premiere of Cold Mountain by Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon; five new productions; three “firsts” planned" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine santafeopera.org
  16. ^ "About Great Scott" jakeheggie.com
  17. ^ "It's A Wonderful Life" Houston Grand Opera
  18. ^ "Notes From The Field" American Repertory Theater
  19. ^ David Gordon "Gloria Steinem Bioplay, Starring Christine Lahti, Announces Full Casting", TheaterMania, September 4, 2018
  20. ^ Rachel Snyder (January 27, 2021). "Dallas Opera Cancels Spring 2021 Performances". People Newspapers. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  21. ^ Salazar, Francisco (January 23, 2020). "Lucas Meachem, Jamie Barton & Joyce DiDonato Highlight Dallas Opera's 2020-21 Season". OperaWire. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Announces 2022–2023 Season". What's Up Fort Worth. January 16, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
  23. ^ Charles Isherwood, "Review: ‘The Stendhal Syndrome’" Variety, February 16, 2004
  24. ^ Frank Rizzo, "Review: Thurgdood" Variety, May 14, 2006
  25. ^ Ben Brantley, "The People in the Picture" New York Times, April 28, 2001
  26. ^ Charles Isherwood, "Review: Dead Man Walking", Variety, September 19, 2002
  27. ^ Steve Smith, "A Role for the Roiling Sea as Ahab Hunts His Whale", New York Times, May 2, 2010
  28. ^ Heidi Waleson, "Tragedy Makes for the Peak of Drama", Wall Street Journal, Feb 3, 2015
  29. ^ "Media Design 1". Boston University. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  30. ^ "Staff Directory". Emerson College. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  31. ^ "Plan of Study: Projection Design" (PDF). Bulletin of Yale University (Series 117 Number 13). Yale University: 56. August 30, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  32. ^ a b Lampert-Greaux, Ellen (February 11, 2020). "By Design: Elaine J. McCarthy on Projections, Part One". Live Design. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  33. ^ Lampert-Greaux, Ellen (October 7, 2019). "Monday Musings: Projection Design". Live Design. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  34. ^ "The 1/52 Project Steering Committee". The 1/52 Project. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  35. ^ "Distinguished Achievement Award Winners Announced". USITT. The Association for Performing Arts & Entertainment Professionals. November 25, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  36. ^ Clement, Olivia (August 21, 2019). "2019 Henry Hewes Design Award Honorees Announced". Playbill. TotalTheatre. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  37. ^ Louis B. Hobson, Billy Elliot en pointe with five Betty Mitchell Awards, Calgary Herald, June 24, 2019
  38. ^ "Drama Desk Award Nominations 2017". Variety. April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  39. ^ "Lucille Lortel Nominations 2017". Variety. April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  40. ^ "The Band's Visit and Come From Away Designers Among 2017 Henry Hewes Design Award Recipients". Playbill. December 18, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  41. ^ "The Independent Reviewers of New England Awards: 2017". about the artists. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
  42. ^ Travis Michael Holder "The 20th Annual Ticketholder Awards 2010", Entertainment Today, January 25, 2011
  43. ^ Henry Hewes Design Awards Notable Effects
  44. ^ "Frequency Hopping". Hourglass Group. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  45. ^ "'Frequency Hopping' Showcases Screen Siren's Smarts". NPR's Science Friday. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  46. ^ Travis Michael Holder "Ticketholder Awards 2007", Entertainment Today, January 11, 2008
  47. ^ Sarah Rushton-Ried, "EDDY Awards presented at special ceremony in New York" Archived 2015-07-13 at the Wayback Machine, Lighting and Sound International, July 4, 2003
  48. ^ Hannah Kate Kinnersley, "Re:Sources–Elaine J. McCarthy" Live Design, August 1, 2004
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