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Spring 2005 | Volume 28, Number 1 | Faculty

Behind the Scenes

Exhibition Celebrates the Genius of SPU Set Designer Don Yanik

In two decades of scenic design at Seattle Pacific University, Theatre Department Chair Don Yanik has created sets for 103 productions and fashioned 888 costumes.

Don Yanik holds a one-quarter-inch scaled model of the set of “Godspell,” performed in SPU’s E.E. Bach Theatre in 1993.

During the month of January 2005, a retrospective display of his work, “Don Yanik — 20 Years of Theatre Design,” was installed at SPU’s Art Center Gallery. It showcased the genius of a fertile mind through sketches, photographs,
drafting blueprints, fabric swatches, set models, finished costumes, and props.

Recognized as one of the most talented scenographers on the West Coast, Yanik not only designs five Seattle Pacific productions a year, but he also designs for outside professional theatres such as Seattle’s Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, Taproot Theatre, and Civic Light Opera. He has even applied his expertise as restoration designer of the British home of renowned Christian author C.S. Lewis. But whether his opus is an elaborate $80,000 set in downtown Seattle, or one built on a considerably more modest budget for SPU’s E.E. Bach Theatre, both must be utterly convincing.

“It’s surprising how we make it happen time and again at SPU, even with tight budgets,” says Yanik. During his tenure, Seattle Pacific has earned a reputation for high-quality production values and intensive learning opportunities for students.

“The students are the ones who make the design come to life,” explains Yanik. “They build it, paint it, and dress it, and once a show opens, they run it all. If there’s a problem, I don’t rush in and fix it. I may chew my nails, but the crew has to solve it.”

Students must look within the arts community for solutions, and that’s where Yanik’s personal connections are gold. He knows scores of marketing and casting directors, actors, stage managers, and theatre critics who are willing to help SPU students succeed.

A Man for All Seasons took to SPU’s James Leon Chapman Stage in late January and early February. “We were stretched by that one,” says Yanik. “I wanted to create an environment that evoked the period yet didn’t get in the way of the director’s vision for the production. The design provided a map to accommodate the various scenes and locales.”

Following the Homecoming matinee performance of A Man for All Seasons on Saturday, February 5, 75 faculty, staff, and alumni gathered in the Art Center Gallery. Many of them past participants in SPU productions, they came to view Yanik’s work, reminisce, and celebrate the legacy of Seattle Pacific theatre.“The exhibit was a part of the students’ legacy at SPU as well,” says Yanik. “It was wonderful to hear them comment on their work and the sense of community they shared. It was an occasion I’ll never forget.”

But for all the joy he has experienced in designing and watching sets come to life, Yanik’s favorite moment comes once a run ends and a set has been struck. Why? “A ghost-lighted, empty stage signals a new beginning.”

BY CLINT KELLY
PHOTO BY LAURENCE CHEN

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From the President
Can a university change the world? To reach such a goal, says Presi-dent Philip Eaton, “we've got to intensely sharpen our focus on the vision that drives us as a university.”

The Results Are In! [Campaign]
The Campaign for SPU raised $55.8 million, breaking all of the Uni-
versity's previous fundraising records.

Celebrating African Composers [Campus]
Raised between two cultures, musician William Chapman Nyaho finds a way to bridge them.

Engaging Artists [Alumni]
Medallion Awards go to three gifted alumni whose artistry “engages, provokes, and rattles the senses.”

Candid Camera [Books & Film]
Documentary filmmakers capture glimmers of hope for children in the Red Light district of Calcutta, India.

Making Memories [Athletics]
The Falcon women's basketball team reached the NCAA title game for the first time in the team's history.

My Response
For 1966 graduate Chi-Dooh “Skip” Li, the tragic case of Terri Schiavo hit close to home.

Back-Cover Art [New]
Response's popular back-cover
art makes its online debut with a painting by an SPU adjunct professor of art.


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