Interview: Junghyun Georgia Lee

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. 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

the other collaborators about what they think is interesting and important about the play. It doesn’t always align! But when you find the point where it does align, then you start figuring out and highlighting the ideas of the play throughout the storytelling. I love just being in the space. I love the anticipation of things getting built and on stage and lit and everything. And then the show opens and people come to see it.

It’s the community experience. And it’s highly addictive. I just want to keep finding projects that are interesting. I really like people. Not just the people I’m working for or the people I’m designing with. I love the people who are in the story—the characters. And I love the people who encounter that story—the audience. I see people who are moved by it, or dismiss it, or are angry or challenged—I love all those aspects. My career in design allows me to go through these experiences over and over; to take someone else’s story, add my visual element to it, and then see how people react. For other visual artists—painters, sculptors— there is an end product that lasts. For theatre designers, the end product only lasts for a few weeks. For me, it’s how we actually figure it out and how we decide to do it at that moment. And then you move on to the next one.

And sometimes you get to revisit that story again years later in a different production. Who gets to do that? I get to do that! I did Pericles twice, and the Pericles that I did in my early twenties was totally different from the Pericles I did in my late thirties. Theatre doesn’t exist forever. It’s always new. Honestly, that is the main draw for me.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WORKING AT THE IRT? The first time I worked at the IRT it was designing costumes for Gem of the Ocean on the Mainstage. What I remember from that time is the amazing lobby, the amazing antique plasterwork in the rehearsal room. I thought, “How do you guys just walk by this every day?” Actually I still feel like that every time I come here.

The next time I worked at IRT, it was Pipeline on the Upperstage. So that was a very different experience, a different space, doing scenery instead of costumes. And that was one of those complicated plays where we really needed to figure it out. The Upperstage was perfect for that play. In my career, I have spent a lot of time figuring out complicated plays in small spaces. Now that’s part of my skill set.

The production departments at the IRT are very supportive. The staff has a lot of insight to offer to help me achieve my sometimes somewhat impossible task. I really love the working process with all the shop heads. Twelve Angry Men was amazing. I loved the play. Costumes for all those different men, plus scenery! The idea of rotating the table, to look at it from different angles—to be honest, there aren’t that many directors in the U.S. who would go with something that is not plausible in real life, not realistic. But James Still decided to go with it, and it worked really beautifully. Looking back, that whole experience was really great.

For me as a designer, when I come to the IRT, I feel fully supported. I don’t have to worry about what I can do, or what I cannot do. Basically, I bring what I want to ask, and they give me an answer. And usually, if it’s not everything I ask for, it’s pretty close. And I know as a designer that’s the best place to be, to have somebody who gives you clear answers.

THANK YOU 2021-2022 SEASON ARTIST ENGAGEMENT SUPPORTERS

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE USING THEIR GIFTS NOT ONLY TO SUPPORT THE IRT, BUT ALSO TO RECOGNIZE AND CELEBRATE THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS WHO MAKE THE STORIES WE TELL POSSIBLE.

BOB & TONI BADER

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF JANET ALLEN

GARY DENNEY & LOUISE BAKKER

LEAD INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTION SUPPORT, FAHRENHEIT 451

MICHAEL DINIUS & JEANNIE REGAN-DINIUS

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF SUZANNE SWEENEY

SUSAN & CHARLIE GOLDEN

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF ROB JOHANSEN

SARAH & JOHN LECHLEITER

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF JAMES STILL

DAVID P. WHITMAN & DONNA L. REYNOLDS

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF COSTUME & PROP SHOPS

MIKE & LIZ SIMMONS

SEASON SUPPORTERS OF INCLUSION SERIES

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