SCOTT C. Neale
Chair of Scenic design Program
Associate professor
Scott C. Neale (he, him, his) is an internationally recognized, award winning professional Scenic Designer and Associate Professor of Scenic Design. He holds an MFA in Scenic Design from Northwestern University and a BFA in Scenic Design and Scenic Painting from the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. Scott has been Resident Scenic Designer for Albany Park Theater Project in Chicago since 2006 and continues to design theatrical sets, theme park attractions, exhibits and events, specializing in immersive theatre experiences and interactive environments around the world. In addition to Albany Park Theatre Project, Scott has designed for Third Rail Projects, Steppenwolf, Lookinglass, Repertory Theatre of Saint Louis, Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Great River Shakespeare Festival, Yale Baroque Opera, amongst many others. In the theme park industry, Scott has designed for Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa, SeaWorld and Aquatica Orlando and San Diego, Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen, the Saint Louis Zoo, Sesame Place, The Ferrari Experience in Abu Dhabi. In the live events industry, in collaboration with Production Glue LLC, he has designed events for clients such as HBO, NBC, FOX, Bloomberg Philanthropies, NAT GEO, Bentley, The New York Times Food Festival, and many many more. Scott is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829, Themed Entertainment Association, and United States Institute of Theatre Technology. He is also a credited contributor to the collegiate textbook Scene Design and Stage Lighting, 9th and 10th Editions (Parker, Wolf & Block : 9th and 10th Editions © Wadsworth 2009, 2013)
Contact: sneale@illinois.edu
Portfolio: https://www.scottcnealedesign.com/
REIKO HUFFMAN
Assistant Teaching Professor
Scenic Design
Reiko Huffman is a freelance Scenic Designer seeking to change and impact the field with emotionally propelled design. Reiko’s designs break tradition by bringing in new and wider perspectives into the design process. She incorporates critical awareness into her design process in order to authentically interweave the emotions that motivate her design choices. She embraces unconventional design methods, pursues daring designs, and takes on challenging narratives in order to truly grasp what genuine visual storytelling means. She believes that when we’re brave enough to try what may ultimately fail we discover more about who we are as artists and what makes us unique. In addition to her design work, Reiko researches and actively practices critical and emotional awareness in her design process, teaching, and any artistic collaboration. By educating emerging artists on using their emotions and personal stories as tools to make them better designers, she believes we can begin to rewrite the traditional scenic design process and become more inclusive as a field. She actively hosts free design workshops, using what she learns from those moments and applying them back into her own process. Reiko Huffman has a deep belief in collaboration and at times that involves wrestling with hard conversations. However, it’s only when we begin that journey and embrace the mistakes that we can truly begin honest growth.
Contact: rhuffman@illinois.edu
Portfolio: http://www.reikohuffman.com/
José M. Díaz-Soto
Assistant Teaching Professor
Scenic Design
A native from Bayamón, Puerto Rico, José holds a BA in Fine Arts from the University of The Sacred Heart and credits in Drama from the University of Puerto Rico. In May 2016, Jose completed his MFA in Scenic Design with a Department of Theatre Distinction at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. José has been designing for drama, musical theater and television for 15 years. Recently completed projects include Time Is On Our Side; The Wolf at the End of the Block; The Explorer’s Club; The Madres; Dangerous Liaisons; Marisol; An Inspector Calls; Jeffrey; The House of Bernarda Alba; Our Town; Polaroid Stories; Between You, Me and the Lampshade; and RED. Musical Theater and Opera: Don Giovanni, Evita, Into the Woods, Godspell, Sound of Music, Les Misérables, Mary Poppins, Man of La Mancha, Don Pascquale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kiss Me Kate, Sister Act, and Legally Blonde. TV and film credits include 23 Hours, Prótesis, Parece que fue ayer, Contraseña, El color de la guayaba, Demasiada Tita, and Las combatientes.
Contact: diazsot2@illinois.edu
Portfolio: www.josemanueldiaz.carbonmade.com
Christina Rainwater
Associate Teaching Professor
Scenic charge artist/shop manager
Christina Rainwater (Scenic Charge Artist) is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and has been a professional Scenic Artist for sixteen years. She received a BFA in Theatre from Missouri State University and an MFA in Scenic Art from University of North Carolina School of the Arts. There, she developed the workshop “A Distressing Subject” on distressing techniques for scenery, properties, and costumes. She was the Scenic Charge Artist at the Flat Rock Playhouse in Flat Rock, North Carolina, for two years. She has an ongoing working relationship at Goodspeed Musicals, where she had the pleasure of working on the musicals Camelot, Carnival, Carousel, Hello Dolly!, and La Cage aux Folles. She also worked for Feld Entertainment in Palmetto, Florida, including Disney’s Princesses on Ice and Disney’s Playhouse Tour II. This summer she worked for six weeks at The Muny, St. Louis, as a Journeyman Scenic Artist on the productions Jerome Robbins, The Wiz, Singing in the Rain, Jersey Boys, and Annie.
Contact: crainh2o@illinois.edu
Portfolio: https://www.rainwaterscenic.com/
John Boesche
Chair of Media design Program
Associate professor
John Boesche’s scenic and projection designs have been seen by Chicago audiences at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Goodman Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lookingglass Theatre, Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, Royal George Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, Victory Gardens, and others. Broadway credits include The Glass Menagerie at Roundabout Theatre, directed by Frank Galati. Regionally his work has been seen at Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Theatre (Sarasota), Denver Center Theatre Company, Geffen Playhouse (Los Angeles), McCarter Theatre (Princeton), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, New York Shakespeare Festival (NYC), Seattle Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare at the Folger (Washington D.C.), South Coast Repertory (Costa Mesa), and Theater On The Square (San Francisco), among others. Mr. Boesche received a Joseph Jefferson Special Awards for media design in 1988, 2005, and 2011; the Merritt Award For Excellence In Design And Collaboration in 1997; a Metro DC Dance Award in 2006; and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle award in 2012. Projection design accompanying the performance of music includes work with The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Eos Orchestra (New York), and The Ravinia Festival Chicago. Scenic and projection designs for dance include the Joffrey Ballet, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (Washington, DC), Lucky Plush Productions, and Mordine & Company, among others. His designs for opera have been seen at Austin Lyric Opera, Barbican Theatre Centre (London), Brooklyn Academy of Music, Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Carolina, Opera Lyon, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Opera Pacifica, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Portland Opera, Salt Lake Opera, San Francisco Opera, Theatre de la Monnaie (Brussels), Washington Opera (DC), and Vancouver Opera, among others. In addition to his work in theater, Mr. Boesche designs media for his own gallery installations, history museums, and outdoor events.
Contact: jboesche@illinois.edu