James Morgan (set designer)

Last updated
James Morgan
Born
Naples, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Florida
Occupation(s)scenic designer, producer
Employer York Theatre
TitleProducing Artistic Director

James Morgan (also known as Jim Morgan) is a prolific scenic designer who is also the Producing Artistic Director of the York Theatre Company.

Contents

Biography and career

Born in Naples, Florida, Morgan attended the University of Florida and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in scenic design. [1] [2]

Morgan arrived in New York City in 1974. Through an introduction from his aunt and uncle, Morgan met with Janet Hayes Walker, producer of the fledgling York Theatre Company. [3] Beginning with designing a poster for one of the York productions, Morgan graduated to becoming the in-house set designer, eventually becoming Walker's "right-hand man." He has been quoted as saying “My experiences here were my graduate school." [3]

Morgan applied to and was accepted into United Scenic Artists, the union for set designers. Instead of taking the usually-required difficult exam, he came with numerous credits and ample recommendations from the living composers and lyricists with whom he had developed personal contact from his years working at the York Theatre. [3]

When Walker died in 1997, The York Theatre's board asked Morgan to assume producing responsibilities as she had requested. He chose to steer the company totally in the direction of musicals, establishing three main focuses: 1) new musicals; 2) revivals of lesser-known musicals, known as the "Musicals in Mufti" series; and 3) developmental readings of new musicals. [3]

In addition to his voluminous work for the York Theatre, Morgan has designed productions elsewhere, most notably for the Irish Repertory Theatre. [3]

He has been nominated twice for the Hewes Design Award, in 2012 for Ionescopade and in 2017 for Marry Harry (both produced by the York Theatre Company).

Partial list of Scenic Design credits

Broadway

Information from the Internet Broadway Database.

Off-Broadway

Information from the Internet Off-Broadway Database.

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References

  1. ↑ Jim Morgan (LinkedIn profile)
  2. ↑ James Morgan (Facebook profile).
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 David Barbour, "The Designer in Charge," Lighting & Sound America (September 2012), p. 91.
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