Bob Knuth

Last updated
Bob Knuth Knuth Bob Headshot 001 lg.jpg
Bob Knuth

Robert Alan Knuth (born May 15, 1967) is an American scenic designer and creative director based in the Chicago, Illinois area. Knuth has been nominated for 15 Joseph Jefferson Awards and is a two-time award winner for outstanding scenic design. [1] [2]

Contents

In 2004, Chris Jones, Chief Theater Critic for The Chicago Tribune wrote about Knuth's body of work in Chicago storefront theaters, "Perhaps more than any other set designer working in the Chicago area, Knuth has solved the aesthetic problems inherent in the prosaic, end-on storefront where audience members sit in narrow rows and stare over the backs of heads at a rectangular stage without much depth or height. Normally, that's as constraining as trying to build a postmodern dwelling on a single Chicago lot. But as Knuth proves again in his very bold, striking and endlessly inventive production of "Jane Eyre" (the talented fellow directs as well as designs), it does not have to be that way." [3]

Knuth was the Creative Director of Marketing & Brand for The Second City Inc (Chicago, Hollywood, Toronto) and UP Comedy Club in Chicago from 2005 to 2021. [4] During the pandemic, Knuth pivoted his career to focus on design and education. In August of 2021, Knuth took a position as the Resident Set & Light Designer/Theater Technical Director for Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, Illinois just north of Chicago. [5]

Biography

After attending undergraduate school at the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire (1985-1990) and completing two years of graduate studies in Design for the Theatre at Northwestern University (1990-1992), Knuth began his career as the Managing Artistic Director for CenterLight Sign and Voice Theatre in Northbrook, Illinois, in 1993. [6] [7]

Knuth was the Senior Graphic Designer at The Chicago Symphony Orchestra from 1998-2005.

Besides working as a freelance scenic and graphic designer, Knuth was Producing Director and resident Scenic/Graphic Designer for Circle Theatre Chicago in Forest Park from 2001-2013 before stepping down to pursue freelance work and focus on his career at The Second City. [8] [9]

During his tenure as Producing Director, Circle Theatre had hosted visits from many notable entertainment luminaries (Rupert Holmes, Michael John LaChiusa, Marvin Hamlisch, Russell Crowe), mounted World and Chicago Premieres and built a thriving subscriber base. [10] [11]

Other scenic design credits include The Kennedy Center/The Second City productions of America; It’s Complicated!, [12] [13] and Generation Gap, [14] Mercury Theatre Chicago's productions of Clue - The Play, [15] The Addams Family [16] (2015 JEFF Award for Outstanding Musical Production) [17] and The Color Purple. The Second City's mainstage productions of Let Them Eat Chaos, Depraved New World Panic on Cloud 9 and for The Second City's E.T.C. 39th Revue. Fox Valley Rep's (formally Noble Fool Theatre at Pheasant Run Resort) Let's Misbehave, Breaking Up is Hard To Do, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

In the fall of 2022, Knuth was the lead interior designer for the reopening of the historic iO Theater comedy complex, overseeing the extensive renovations to the facade, two bars, offices, training center classrooms, and four theaters. [18]

Other awards

Knuth won the Joseph Jefferson Award for Scenic design in 2004 and 2009 [19] and was nominated 13 more times. [20]

In 2015 and 2017, Knuth received In-House Design Merit Awards from HOW Design Magazine for poster designs promoting the 103rd and 104th mainstage revues at The Second City.

Related Research Articles

The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has become one of the most influential and renowned in the English-speaking world. In February 2021, ZMC, a private equity investment firm based in Manhattan, purchased the Second City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodman Theatre</span> Professional theater company located in Chicago

Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the landmark Harris and Selwyn Theaters property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Sidney Bembridge</span> Musical artist

Brian Sidney Bembridge is an American scenic, lighting, and costume designer for theater and film. His work has been seen on stages and screens throughout the country and Internationally in Australia, Germany, Prague, Ireland, and Great Britain. Mr. Bembridge has also taught and lectured at many universities across the country. He holds a BFA from University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chopin Theatre</span>

Chopin Theatre is an independent performing arts venue located in Wicker Park, Chicago. Reopened in 1990 by Zygmunt Dyrkacz, a Polish immigrant, the theater has become a significant cultural hub known for its eclectic programming and commitment to avant-garde and experimental performances. Since 1990, Chopin Theatre has hosted over 2,100 presentations as well as its own productions, ranging from theater and dance to music and literary events. The venue is particularly renowned for showcasing international works, especially from Eastern Europe, and has played a crucial role in introducing Chicago audiences to innovative and challenging performances. The theater's influence extends beyond its productions, as it has been instrumental in fostering a vibrant arts community within Chicago, making it one of the city's best venues for theater.

Trap Door Theatre is an American, Jeff Award-winning, avant-garde theatre company based in Chicago. Its focus is on European and original experimental material.

Robert Falls is an American theater director and the former artistic director of the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lee Beatty</span> American scenic designer

John Lee Beatty is an American scenic designer who has created set designs for more than 115 Broadway shows and has designed for other productions. He won two Tony Awards, for Talley's Folly (1980) and The Nance (2013), was nominated for 13 more, and he won five Drama Desk Awards and was nominated for 10 others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Washington School of Drama</span> American drama school is Seattle, Washington

The School of Drama is an undergraduate and graduate drama school within the Arts Division of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

<i>The Addams Family</i> (musical) Musical Comedy

The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for all things macabre. Although numerous film and television adaptations of Addams' cartoons exist, the musical is the first stage show based on the characters. The Addams Family is also the first show produced by Elephant Eye Theatricals.

Lookingglass Theatre Company is a non-profit theater company located in Chicago, Illinois.

The Hypocrites is a Chicago storefront theater company founded in 1997 by Sean Graney, Brandon Kruse and Christopher Cintron. The company is currently run by Sean Graney and Kelli Strickland. One of Chicago’s premier off-Loop theater companies, The Hypocrites specializes in mounting bold productions that challenge preconceptions and redefining the role of the audience through unusual staging and direct engagement. The company has a reputation in Chicago for creating exciting, surprising, and deeply engaging theater as it re-interprets well-known works for contemporary audiences, reveling in the absurd while revealing the core of what makes classics classic.

“The Hypocrites, who with each new production, continue to rise not just to the rank of one of our city’s best storefronts but one of Chicago’s best theaters period.” – Newcity Stage

Barbara Gaines is an American theatre director, impresario, and actress. She is the founder and former artistic director of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Michael Halberstam is an American stage actor and director. He co-founded the Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois, and served as its artistic director until 2021. He resigned after years of reported harassment and abuse from artists working at the theater.

Anna Louizos is an American scenic designer and art director. She is known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights,High Fidelityand The Mystery of Edwin Drood as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q. Louizos was represented on Broadway with School of Rockat The Wintergarden Theatre,Holiday Inn (2016),Honeymoon in Vegas,Dames at Sea (2015),Cinderella at the Broadway Theatre in 2013–15.Other Broadway designs include Curtains (2007),,It Shoulda Been You,White Christmas on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre,The Performers,Steel Magnoliasand Golda's Balcony

Disgraced (2012) is the first stage play by playwright, novelist, and screenwriter Ayad Akhtar. It premiered in Chicago and has had Off-Broadway and Off West End engagements. The play, which won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, opened on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater October 23, 2014. Disgraced has also been recognized with a 2012 Joseph Jefferson Award for New Work – Play or Musical and a 2013 Obie Award for Playwriting. The 2014 Broadway transfer earned a nomination for Tony Award for Best Play in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Bellie</span> American director and choreographer

Kevin Bellie is an American director and choreographer based in the Chicago, Illinois area. Bellie has been nominated for 20 Joseph Jefferson Awards and is a five-time award winner. Bellie was artistic director for Circle Theatre Chicago in Forest Park from 2003–2012 before stepping down to pursue freelance work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsay Jones (composer)</span> American composer and sound designer

Lindsay Draper Jones is an American composer and sound designer for theater, television and film. He has also taught and lectured at numerous universities and schools across the country.

Circle Theatre Chicago founded in 1985 by Wayne Buidens, Joe Bass, and Karen Skinner is a theatre company in Oak Park and Chicago, Illinois. They chose the name "Circle Theatre" to represent both Circle Avenue and the concept of infinity. They began their work began in public buildings, and then settled in a church in 1987. A few years later, a fire destroyed the church and forced Circle to find its own space at 7300 Madison Street. The company was led by Karen Skinner until 1998 when she turned the artistic leadership over to her daughter Alena Murguia, and two company members Tony Vezner and Greg Kolack. The company is noted for producing new works; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living had its premier at Circle in 1996.

Writers Theatre is a non-profit theatre company founded in 1992 and located in Glencoe, Illinois. Michael W. Halberstam, the founder of the company, was an artistic director from its inception in 2021. Kathryn M. Lipuma has been an executive director since 2007.

David Darlow is an American actor and stage director.

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Chris (June 8, 2004). "Bailiwick wins 11 Jeff Awards". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Jones, Chris (June 9, 2009). "'Our Town,' Theo Ubique's 'Evita' win". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Jones, Chris (November 17, 2004). "Circle's inventive 'Jane Eyre' offers music and much moor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  4. ↑ Jones, Chris (October 11, 2016). "Management changes at Second City after half an e.t.c. Stage cast departs". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Theater Faculty". Lake Forest College.
  6. ↑ Murphy, H. Lee (December 5, 1997). "24 Years After Marlee Matlin's Debut, Centerlight Returns To 'Wizard Of Oz'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Alumni News". University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Chicago's Favorites: Circle Theatre in Forest Park". ABC Channel 7. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  9. ↑ Jack, Helbig (April 25, 2008). "Director drawn to uplifting shows". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ Riekki, Ron (May 30, 2006). "'Broadway legend' visits Circle Theatre for Q&A". Forest Park Review. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  11. ↑ Metz, Nina (August 15, 2003). "Circle Theatre's connection to Crowe is one for the books". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  12. ↑ Pressley, Nelson (June 26, 2019). "The Second City's latest sketch comedy show takes on Trump, tourists and trolls". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Brickman, Ravelle (June 26, 2019). "The Second City's 'America; It's Complicated!' at the Kennedy Center". DC Theater Arts. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Franco, Kristin (July 1, 2018). "'Generation Gap' by The Second City at The Kennedy Center's Theatre Lab". MD Theatre Guide. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Weinberg, Rachel. "Review: CLUE at Mercury Theater Chicago". broadwayworld.com. Wisdom Digital Media.
  16. ↑ Jones, Chris (February 9, 2015). "The Addams Family' at the Mercury Theater". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  17. ↑ Gambino, Joe (October 6, 2015). "Broadway Artists Among Winners of 2015 Jeff Awards". Playbill. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  18. ↑ Kairu, Wanjiku (September 15, 2022). "iO improvises its rebirth". Chicago Reader.
  19. ↑ "Archives -- Recipients", Joseph Jefferson Awards, accessed April 18, 2023
  20. ↑ "Archives -- Any", Joseph Jefferson Awards, accessed April 18, 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.