JILL DAVIS
ABOUT
Hi there! I'm Jill Davis, a scenic designer and scenic artist based in Cleveland, Ohio. I'm an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University, and I have designed and painted scenery at theaters across the country (Cleveland Play House, Dobama Theater, American Stage Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company, and Chautauqua Theater Company, to name a few) and even overseas at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
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I came to theater as a fine art major in college who began painting scenery in the theater department. I quickly realized that theater was a wonderful, collaborative way to make art. In graduate school studying scenic design I learned how satisfying it is to work with a director and other designers to bring a play to life.
Painting in LORT theater was the forefront of the first 12 years of my career. It gave me the opportunity to work in outstanding facilities with a wide variety of amazing designers, directors and production artists. More and more design opportunities came along during those years allowing me to delve into scripts with directors to create the visual world that would support each story.
Teaching scenic and lighting design is the newest chapter in my career, and I can emphatically say that it has reinvigorated my design process and made me a better designer. Teaching students how to create visual metaphors for the words in a script keeps me constantly searching for new, stimulating ways to do it myself. My favorite productions have been the ones that had a compelling process of developing ideas with the director.
I'm always looking to expand my range by working with new directors in other theaters around the country. If you are a director or producer interested in working with a scenic designer who truly loves collaboration, please contact me with the form below.
CONTACT
SCENIC ART
LIGHTING DESIGN
RESUME
SCENIC DESIGN
Cleveland Play House, Case-CPH MFA Acting Ensemble
Clybourne Park, director Don Carrier, 2016
Too True to be Good, director Don Carrier, 2014
Identity Theft, director Anders Cato, 2013
Present Laughter, director Jerrold Scott, 2010
An Orchard, director Mark Alan Gordon, 2009
Cloud Nine, director Ronald Wilson, 2009
All’s Well That Ends Well, director Geoffrey Bullen, 2008
Autobahn, director Alan Rosenberg, 2008
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, director Mark Alan Gordon, 2007
Arcadia, director Ronald Wilson, 2007
As You Like It, director Edward Morgan, 2007
Big Love, director Mark Alan Gordon, 2007
Heartbreak House, director Jerrold Scott, 2006
The Little Foxes, director Ronald Wilson, 2006
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, director Mark Alan Gordon, 2005
Triumph of Love, director Jonathan Silverstein, 2005
The Real Thing, director Jerrold Scott, 2005
Hurlyburly, director Ronald Wilson, 2004
Bus Stop, director Ronald Wilson, 2004
Twelfth Night, director Mark Alan Gordon, 2003
Hay Fever, director Ronald Wilson, 2003
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London, UK
Chez Feydeau, director Geoff Bullen, 2016
American Stage Theater Company, St. Petersburg, FL
A Doll’s House, director Seth Gordon, 2012
Case Western Reserve University Department of Theatre
Barefoot in the Park, director Ron Wilson, 2016
The Addams Family, director Jerrold Scott, 2015
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, director Jayce Tromsness, 2015
The Learned Ladies, director Ron Wilson, 2015
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, director Jerrold Scott, 2014
Black Comedy, director Ron Wilson, 2013
Betty the Yeti, director Jerrold Scott, 2013
The Crucible, director Donald Carrier, 2013
The Rocky Horror Show, director Jerrold Scott, 2012
Top Girls, director Catherine Albers, 2012
The Underpants, director Ron Wilson, 2011
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, director Jerrold Scott 2011
The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, director John Jenson 2010
Stage Door, directors Mark Alan Gordon and John Jenson 2008
Glass Menagerie, director Jerrold Scott 2008
Shadow of a Gunman, director Mark Alan Gordon 2007
Much Ado About Nothing, director Jerrold Scott 2007
A Bright Room Called Day, director Mark Alan Gordon 2006
Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH
Footloose, director Sean McKnight, 2014
Looking After Norman, director Catriona Macphie 2008
Oberlin College Department of Theater and Dance, Oberlin,
Strike Slip, director Heather Anderson Boll, 2012
The Cleveland Play House Children’s Theatre, Cleveland, OH 2004-2007
The Wind in the Willows, director Seth Gordon
Puss in Boots, Follow the Seasons, Jabberwocky, The Nutcracker,
The Emperor’s New Clothes, Balto; director Bill Hoffman
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Ohio Northern University Summer Theatre, Ada, OH
The King and I, director Renee Dobson 1998
Pump Boys and Dinettes, director Doug Lutz 1999
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? director Renee Dobson 1998
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Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Translations, director Donna Snow 1999
The Magnanimous Cuckold, director Bob Hedley 1998
Wedding Band, director Connie Norman 1997
SCENIC ART
Charge Scenic Artist Cleveland Play House 2001-2011
In charge of painting scenery and props for 7-10 productions each season, supervising 2 scenic artists, consulting with scenic designer and all other production departments for the timely execution of all scenic elements, responsible for budget of paint department. Selected productions include:
Emma, designer Robert Morgan, director Peter Amster
Crime and Punishment, designer Lee Savage, director Anders Cato
Pride and Prejudice, designer Robert Koharcheck, director Peter Amster
Around the World in Eighty Days, designer Takeshi Kata director Bart DeLorenzo
The Glass Menagerie, designer Robert Morgan, director Michael Bloom
Doubt, designer Russell Parkman, director Seth Gordon
The Chosen, designer Michael Raiford, director Seth Gordon
Lincolnesque, designer Todd Rosenthal, director Michael Bloom
A Streetcar Named Desire, designer Todd Rosenthal, director Michael Bloom
Well, designer Michael Raiford, director Michael Bloom
I Am My Own Wife, designer Hugh Landwehr, director Anders Cato
A Christmas Story, designer Michael Ganio, director Seth Gordon
The Dinner Party, designer Vicki Smith, director Peter Hackett
Dirty Blonde, designer Vicki Smith, director Peter Hackett
I Hate Hamlet, designer Bill Clarke, director David Colacci
Proof, designer Michael Ganio, director Seth Gordon
Guest Scenic Charge Artist Ohio Northern University
Urinetown, 2010, designer Alexis Distler
Cabaret, 2009, designer Toru Shimakawa
Charge Scenic Artist The Minnesota Ballet, Duluth, MN 2009
Backdrops for A Manhattan Nutcracker, designer Curt Phillips, Choreographer Allen Fields
Guest Charge Scenic Artist The Alabama Shakespeare Festival 2008
Backdrops for West Side Story, designer Paul Wonsek
Guest Scenic Artist Chautauqua Theatre Company, Chautauqua, NY 2006
The Cherry Orchard, designer Troy Hourie, director Ethan McSweeney
Charge Scenic Artist Bay Street Theatre, Sag Harbor, NY 2004
Once on This Island, designer Troy Hourie, director Marcia Milgrom Dodge
Charge Scenic Artist Bigfork Summer Play House, Bigfork, MT 2004
Annie Get Your Gun, designer Cliff Simon, director Chad Henry
Charge Scenic Artist Summer Repertory Theatre, Santa Rosa, CA 2001
Peter Pan, A Chorus Line, designer Michael Smith
Street Scene, On the Verge, designer Peter Crompton
Picasso at the Lapine Agile, Noises Off!, designer Eric Sinkkonen
Charge Scenic Artist PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chapel Hill, NC 2000-2001
Side Man, designer Narelle Sissons, director Drew Barr
Master Harold and the Boys, designer Bill Clarke, director John Dillon
All’s Well That End’s Well, designer McKay Coble, director David Hammond
Look Homeward Angel, designer Tim Saternow, director Kent Paul
Charge Scenic Artist Weston Playhouse Theatre Co., Weston, VT, Summer 2000
The Threepenny Opera, designer Jim Kronzer, director Malcolm Ewen
School For Wives, designer Howard Jones, director Michael Unger
My Fair Lady, designer Russell Parkman, director Peter Amster
The Mystery of Irma Vep, designer Tim Saternow, director Steve Stettler
Saturday Night, designer Dick Block, director Tim Fort
Scenic Artist Alley Theatre, Houston, TX, 1994-1996 (selected shows)
Angels in America, designer Tony Straiges, director Michael Wilson
The Food Chain, designer Richard Isackes, director Gregory Boyd
The Mystery of Irma Vep, designer Jeff Cowie, director Michael Wilson
Hamlet: A Monologue, director and designer Robert Wilson
Antony and Cleopatra, designer Kevin Rigdon, director Vanessa Redgrave
Charge Scenic Artist Ohio Northern University Summer Theatre 1995-1997, 2005
Once Upon a Mattress, designer Scott Henkels, director Robert Behrens
A Funny Thing Happened…, designer Tom Monaco, director Robert Behrens
The Sound of Music, designer Tom Monaco, director Renee Dobson
Forever Plaid, designer Kurt Sharp, director Kirsten Osbun
LIGHTING DESIGN
Case Western Reserve University Department of Theatre
Proof, director Christpher Bohan, 2016
Lobby Hero, director David Vegh, 2015
The Bald Soprano, director Christopher Bohan, 2014
Fifth of July, director Catherine Albers, 2013
Love’s Labour’s Lost, director Beth McGee, 2012
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION MEMBERSHIP
United States Institute of Theater Technology, 2012, 2013
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts in Scenic Design, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 1999
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fine Arts, Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH, 1994
Cobalt Studios, White Lake, NY, Summer Scene Painting and Translucent Drop Seminars
Continuing Education course in Photoshop, Cleveland Institute of Art, 2002
SCENIC DESIGN
CWRU-Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Ensemble Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley Lighting Design Annie Garrett Larson Costume Design Inda Blatch Geib
CWRU-Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Ensemble Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley Lighting Design Annie Garrett Larson Costume Design Inda Blatch Geib
CWRU-Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Ensemble Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley Lighting Design Annie Garrett-Larson Costume Design Inda Blatch Geib
CWRU-Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Ensemble Director Sarah Elizabeth Wansley Lighting Design Annie Garrett Larson Costume Design Inda Blatch Geib