Spotlight On…
Ralph Funicello, Don Powell Chair in Scene Design
San Diego State University
Tony-nominated designer Ralph Funicello has brought his set design expertise, from Broadway to top-notch regional theaters, into the classrooms of San Diego State University.
Q: How did you get started in your theatre career?
A: I decided while I was in high school that I wanted to be a set designer. I studied set design in college, graduating from NYU School of the Arts in 1970. By the time I graduated, I was a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and had the good fortune to be an assistant on Broadway shows. While I was still a young designer, I was hired by The American Conservatory Theatre to move to San Francisco to be one of two designers in residence. That was really the start of my design career.
Q: Describe someone or something in the theatre community that has influenced you.
A: My greatest influences were Ming Cho Lee, who was my teacher at NYU, and who hired me to work in his studio while I was his student, and Desmond Heeley, the great British Set and Costume designer who I became friends with while we were both designing at the Guthrie Theatre. I still feel their positive influence on my work.
Q: What is your favorite part about teaching at your school?
A: The students; they bring an enthusiasm and unquenchable thirst for ideas. Teaching has forced me to find words to describe what I do as a designer. The student’s work and their questions provide me with a continual reassessment of my own work and my ideas about the function of design in the theatre. It is also a great joy to see them grow as designers and to help nurture the creative drive within them. It is a very great feeling to see my students succeed in this difficult field.
Q: What’s an average day for a student in your program?
A: There is no real average day. Students are in class for most of the day and often work in the shops on specific assignments when they are not in class. When shows are in tech/dress rehearsals at night, they will usually be there, depending on their job assignment on that production. There are no classes on weekends, except for rehearsals.
Q: What are some of the advantages of studying in San Diego, CA?
A: San Diego is the home of some of the top regional theatres in the country and a major opera company. There is a lot of great theatre to see. Our department and faculty have very strong connections with most of the arts organizations in the area and there are ample employment opportunities.
We are also close to Los Angeles and have strong connections to the film and television industry. Many of our students have been able to take advantage of internships in LA that have directly led to careers in film and TV. And San Diego does have the best weather in the nation.
Q: What are some of the special programs you offer within your design department?
A: We are part of the School of Theatre Film and Television and therefore train students for design careers in all three fields.
We offer a BA Degree in Applied Arts and Sciences with an Emphasis in Design and Technology for the Theatre or an Emphasis is Design for Television and Film.
We also offer an MFA degree in Scene Design, Costume Design, Lighting Design, and Technical production.
The Cygnet Theatre fellowship, generously funded by the Lapinski Family offers 3 students per year the opportunity to design for one of the most exciting theatre companies in San Diego.
Every spring we hold the Design/Performance Jury. Teams of students prepare theatre and film projects which are critiqued by a group of nationally recognized theatre and film artists. Past jurors have included Edward Albee, Ming Cho Lee, John Iaccovelli, Martin Benson, Michael Grief and Robert Blackman.
The Funicello Scenic Fellowship pays for one set design student per summer to assist me in my studio on design work for theatre and opera companies around the country.
Q: What percent of applicants are accepted to your program(s)?
A: I cannot give you an accurate percentage as is varies drastically from year to year. In our MFA program, we normally accept 2 students in each of the 4 areas. Once we accept a student, we commit to making sure that they are trained and can graduate from the program. Undergraduates enter the design emphasis from the general theatre major after an interview and portfolio review.
Q: Anything in particular potential students should prepare for or expect when applying to your school?
A: MFA Design Students need some proficiency in the skills associated with their field of interest. Skills in drawing, painting, drafting, model building as well as costume and scene shop crafts are all very useful. They should also demonstrate a clear understanding of the rigors of a life in the theatre, and be sure of their choice to pursue this field.
Q: What makes your program different from other programs out there?
A: I can only address the strengths of our program. We offer an intense, almost one on one training in Set Design, Costume Design, Lighting design and Technical Production for the theatre with a very strong component in Art Direction and Production Design. We offer students ample opportunities for design within our program and in the community at large. We are located in a beautiful area of the country that is one of the nation’s leading theatre communities.
Ralph Funicello has designed the scenery for over two hundred fifty productions of plays throughout the United States and Canada. He is an Associate Artist at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and has worked extensively with the Mark Taper Forum, the South Coast Rep, the Seattle Rep, and the American Conservatory Theatre where he was Director of Design from 1988-1990. His work has also been seen On and Off Broadway, and at the Lincoln Center Theatre, the Manhattan Theatre Club, the Milwaukee Rep, the Huntington Theatre, the American Festival Theatre, the Arizona Theatre Company, the Berkeley Rep, the Denver Center Theatre Company, the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, Arizona Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Intiman Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, the Guthrie Theatre, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Stratford Festival of Canada, The Royal Shakespeare Company Stratford on Avon New York City Opera, San Diego Opera and Los Angeles Opera.
His work has been exhibited at the Library and Museum of the Performing Arts in New York City, the University of San Diego, San Diego State University, Tiffany & Co. San Diego, the Chevron Gallery in San Francisco, The Prague Quadrennial, The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, and the Exhibition of Stage Design in Beijing. He has been nominated for a N.Y. Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucile Lortel, and Tony Award. He has received The Merritt Award for Excellence In Design and Collaboration and his designs have been recognized by the Bay Area Theatre Critics’ Circle, the L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle, Dramalogue Magazine, Backstage West and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology.
Mr. Funicello has served on the Theatre Panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. He was a Director at Large for The United States Institute of Theatre Technology from 1996-2001 and the United States Representative to the Scenography Commission of the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians from 1994-2001. He currently holds the position of Powell Chair in Set Design at San Diego State University.
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