Design Faculty (as of 2011-12)
Joseph Appelt
Chair of the Department of Theatre, Professor/lighting design
847-491-3170 j-appelt@northwestern.edu
Joseph Appelt’s designs in recent years include Fake at Steppenwolf Theatre, The Sins of Sor Juana and Boleros for the Disenchanted at The Goodman Theatre and the world premiere of Boleros at Yale Repertory Theatre; In the Next Room at Victory Gardens Theatre; Noises Off at The Cleveland Playhouse; and The Glass Experience, an exhibit on the history, industrial application, and artistic use of glass, at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. Mr. Appelt has also designed in Chicago for Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre, and Chicago Children's Theatre. Other regional theater credits include numerous productions at Milwaukee Repertory Theater as well as productions at The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC, Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, Syracuse Stage, American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland as well as productions performed at the Spoleto Festival USA and in Tokyo, Japan. He has held the position of Resident Lighting Designer for Missouri Repertory Theatre (now retitled Kansas City Repertory Theatre) and the Kansas City Ballet.
Ana Kuzmanic
Assistant Professor/costume design
847-491-3389 a-kuzmanic@northwestern.edu
Ana Kuzmanic’s design work is featured in theatre, film and entertainment industry around the country and internationally. Broadway credits: Tony Award Winning August: Osage County, directed by Anna Shapiro, Desire Under the Elms directed by Robert Falls and Superior Donuts directed by Tina Landau. Regional theatre: Steppenwolf Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Looking Glass Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Berkeley Rep, McCarter Theatre Center, Washington Shakespeare Theatre, and Trinity Rep. As a frequent collaborator with Tony Award winning director Robert Falls, Ana designed costumes for King Lear with Stacy Keach (at Goodman and Washington Shakespeare Theatre), Desire Under the Elms with Brian Dennehy and Carla Gugino (Goodman) and is currently working on the World Premiere of Rebecca Gilman’s new play A True History of Johnstown Flood and Romeo and Juliet directed by Gale Edwards at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Ms Kuzmanic’s work was exhibited nationally and internationally including 2007 Prague Quadrennial in the Czech Republic, and World Stage Design in 2005 in Toronto, Canada. From 1993 to 2003, Ana produced her clothing and jewelry line, featured on runways around Europe and North America. She graduated from Faculty of Applied Arts and Design in Belgrade in 1997 and earned her Master’s Degree in Stage Design from Northwestern University in 2004. Kuzmanic’s teaching focus is on costume design, drawing and painting for stage designer and recent fashion history.
Linda J. Roethke
Director of MFA Design Program, Professor/Costume Design
847-491-3140 l-roethke@northwestern.edu
National credits include Man and Superman (Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington); As You Like It, Julius Caesar, All’s Well That Ends Well (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Game’s Afoot (Cleveland Playhouse); My Fair Lady, (Cincinnati Playhouse); My Fair Lady, Proof, Spinning into Butter (The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis); Managing Maxine, Mrs. Warren's Profession, The Underpants, (Suzi Bass Nomination); The Fourth Wall, My Fair Lady, Shadowlands, Spinning into Butter, A Beast on the Moon, and How I Learned to Drive (Alliance Theatre); Quake, An Allegory of Whiteness, Wonderful World (Actor's Theatre of Louisville); A Flea in Her Ear, Cymbeline (Utah Shakespearean Festival); A Little Night Music (Connecticut Repertory); The Gin Game, Godspell (Center Stage); Chicago credits include Dead Man's Cell Phone, Intimate Apparel, and I Never Sang for My Father (Steppenwolf); Orlando, Arcadia, The Romance Cycle (Cymbeline and Pericles); The Dead, Hay Fever, Little Foxes, An Ideal Husband (Joseph Jefferson Award); Old Times, On the Verge (Court Theatre); Stage Kiss, The Clean House, A Schoolgirl's Figure, A Pirate's Lullaby (The Goodman Theatre); Hecuba (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); and The Red Planet (Adler Planetarium) film. Professor Roethke has directed national and international workshops in costume design, drawing, and rendering. She maintains a freelance career as a professional costume designer, a member of U.S.A.A., and as a studio artist. Gallery exhibits of her studio work include the Louise Grayson Gallery, and Curator's Choice: Around the Coyote. Roethke earned her B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, where she was named as Distinctive Alumni. She has an M.F.A. from The University of Iowa and did post-graduate work in fiber art at Penn State University and the School of the Art Institute (Drawing and Painting).
Todd Rosenthal
Associate Professor/scenic design
847-491-3137 t-rosenthal@northwestern.edu
Todd Rosenthal received the 2008 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play for August: Osage County, and a 2011 Tony Award Nomination for The Motherf**ker with the Hat. He designs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country and abroad, including: Steppenwolf Theatre, The Goodman Theater, The Alliance Theatre, Arena Stage, Berkeley Rep, Manhattan Theater Club, The Guthrie Theater, Centerstage, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Alley Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory Theater, Paper Mill Playhouse, ChicagoShakespeare, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse, Atlantic Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, National Theatre inLondon, Sydney Theater, Theatre Royal, Ireland and others. Select recent projects include: Clybourne Park, A Parallelogram, and The Crucible for the Steppenwolf Theatre; A Delicate Balance and Red for Arena Stage; A Streetcar Named Desire and Roman Holiday for the Guthrie; Red Light Winter (world premiere)for The Barrow Street Theater (off Broadway), Ghost Light for The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Berkeley Rep; Red, The Seagull and the annual A Christmas Carol for The Goodman; A Skull in Connemara for Centerstage, August: Osage County for The North American Tour and The Sydney Theatre, Australia; The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County by John Mellencamp and Stephen King for the Alliance Theater; and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? on Broadway. Todd designed five productions for New York’s Big Apple Circus. Museum exhibitions: Mythbusters: the Explosive Exhibition, and Sherlock Holmes, the Science of Deduction. His work was included in the USA exhibition at The 2007 Prague Quadrennial exhibit of theater design in the Czech Republic. He is the only American designer to receive the Lawrence Olivier Award for Best Set Design. He was recently awarded The Michael Merritt Award for excellence in design and collaboration. Other awards: Los Angeles Times Stage Alliance Ovation Award, Los Angeles Backstage Garland Award, Joseph Jefferson Award, Metropolitan Atlanta Suzi Bass Award, and three After Dark Awards. Todd teaches design at Northwestern University, and is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama. Website: toddar.com.
