DESIGNER JUNGHYUN GEORGIA LEE
Aimé Donna Kelly & Cole Taylor in the IRT’s 2018 production of Pipeline. Photo by Zach Rosing. Scenic design by Junghyun Georgia Lee. JUNGHYUN GEORGIA LEE IS THE SCENIC DESIGNER FOR THE BOOK CLUB PLAY. PREVIOUSLY AT THE IRT SHE HAS DESIGNED SCENERY FOR THIS WONDERFUL LIFE AND PIPELINE, COSTUMES FOR THE UNEXPECTED GUEST AND GEM OF THE OCEAN, AND BOTH FOR TWELVE ANGRY MEN.
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTERESTED IN THEATRE? Not until my early twenties. I was born and raised in South Korea, finished high school there, and attended two years of university. My education in South Korea wasn’t about art at all; I was studying geography! (laughs) It was actually very interesting. It wasn’t the geological and scientific components; it was more about the anthropology and economics. It was interesting, but I needed a break; before I settled into a career, I needed to see what was out there. I ventured out to Canada, where I took some fine arts courses at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. I discovered a deeper interest in the arts. From there I got involved in scene painting, and I fell in love with theatre. It was a huge cultural revelation for me. My only previous theatre experience was being briefly active with a marionette troupe in college in South Korea. That lead me to apply for the theatre design program and get my B.F.A. That was an interdisciplinary program, so I studied costumes and lighting as well as scenery.
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My parents didn’t understand the concept of a scenic designer; they didn’t even know such a career could exist. For the longest time, my father thought I was doing interior design. Several years later, I had the opportunity to design a musical and an opera in South Korea, two really big shows. My parents came to see those, and now they understand what I do. So when I applied to graduate schools, I got into the Yale School of Drama. That’s when I moved to the United States. I applied for scenic design, but all their scenic design slots were filled, so they put me in costume design. Yale is also an interdisciplinary program, so I got to study scenery as well as costumes. As an undergrad, I wasn’t that interested in costumes; but at Yale, my learning curve went way up, and I became very interested (and my skills were significantly improved!). I did costume designs for mainstage shows, and scenic design for smaller projects, so by the time I finished my M.F.A., I had a portfolio for both areas. It took me a while to gain credibility in both areas; most U.S. designers do one or the other. But today I get offers for both, and I enjoy doing both. WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT DESIGNING? I love figuring things out. I really do. I love reading plays, and finding out about the playwright’s ideas. I love talking with the director and
