Orzechowski Named Artist-in-Residence
This fall, the Fairmont State University Theatre Department welcomes Artist-in-Residence Debera Orzechowski as costumer of the Masquers productions of "The Mandrake" and the holiday show, "Scrooge!"
Debera Orzechowski, (known as Deb O), a native of Milwaukee, Wis., has recently crossed the threshold into her second career. Directly from high school, she went to work in a factory building cars. She took a year off from working in the factory to study in Poland at the Jagiellon University. There she learned Polish language, folk art and costumes. She has been back and forth, studying in Poland, 16 times.
Most of Deb's studies took place during the 1980s, and Poland's fight for freedom from Russia 'known as 'Solidarnosc.' After 20 years of working in the factory and with a thirst for more knowledge, she decided to further her education. She chose Marquette University for her undergraduate work. There she received a major in Theatre and a double minor in Art History and Studio Art.
Orzechowski earned a Master's Degree in Scenography. This is the study of all three design disciplines: set, costume and lighting. After a nationwide search, she found the University of North Carolina Greensboro. While there, she won several awards in design from the Southeastern Theatre Conference and the American College Theater Festival. Her final year at UNCG, she won the Best Designer in the U.S. Award from ACTF and went to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., for a Master Class taught by Skip Mercier.
She was chosen to design the props at the O'Neil Playwright Festival in New London, Conn., for two years. After graduation from UNCG, she pursued attending Yale School of Drama. She took a year off to put a portfolio together and continued figure drawing classes in Milwaukee. Shortly after she showed her portfolio at Yale, she was accepted. In May of 2007, she graduated with her second master's degree in design from Yale School of Drama. She is the first in her family, not to only to study at a university, but also to receive two master's degrees. She moved to New York where, for the past year and a half, she has been designing sets and costumes.
In her first year out of school, Orzechowski designed 15 shows, among them three new musicals: "Expatriate," produced by the Culture Project, N.Y., which received a great review in the New York Times and was sold out every night; "Jihad the Musical," which traveled to Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland; and "Salsalandia" at La Jolla Playhouse in California, which toured 28 schools. Among her other shows are "Platonov," Lake Lucille, N.Y.; "Once on This Island," Young At Arts, N.Y.; "Running," Milk Can, N.Y.; "The Witlings," The West End Theatre, N.Y.; "Uncle Vanya," Lucille Lake, N.Y.; "The Mistakes Madeline Made," Yale Rep, New Haven, Conn.; "The Great Divorce," 315 New York; and "Hamlet" (Yale, New Haven, Conn. She received the Jay and Rhonda Keene Award.
In December, she will be designing the set for an eight-hour play called the "Greeks Part 3" that will be done at Juilliard School in New York. It will be directed by Brian Mertes, who directs for "Guiding Light" and "Law and Order." This is Orzechowski's third production with Mertes. Readers and audiences may view more of her work on her web site debodesignsudio.com.
The Artist-in-Residence Program at FSU is designed to enhance the academic and curricular arts programs of Fairmont State University, provide the opportunity for faculty development and growth and provide a valuable intellectual and cultural resource for the community. The program is made possible by an annual stipend from the Fairmont State Foundation, Inc.
Successful residency programs have been provided in recent years by British musician Emma Peake; stage director Jeffrey Ingman; poet Maggie Anderson; sculptor Wayne Trapp; the late local jazz legend, Johnnie Johnson; British actor Roger Jerome; freelance artist Patricia Musick; opera singers Mary Anne Talese and Stephen Lusmann; portrait artist Elizabeth McLain; writers Jaimy Gordon and Meredith Sue Willis; pianist Nada Loutfi; landscape painter Ann Templeton; and singer-songwriter Larry Groce. Residencies have included mentoring of FSU students, well-received performances and exhibitions for the college and community and workshops for public school students and teachers.
