Tarik Kirkendoll
Professor Parker
Intro to theatre
10/12/15
Ming Cho Lee
October 3rd, in the year of 1930, Ming Cho Lee was born. Ming Cho Lee would in later decades be known for bringing forth famous american scene design. Ming Cho is often called the “dean” of American Scene design. In the Scene Designers life he partook or contributed to the theatrical arts in his Early life, Career, and Yale.
Early Life
Ming Cho Lee was born in Shanghai, China. However, after a divorce between his parents when he was six he spent a majority of his time with his father Tsu Fa Lee. His father graduated from Yale in 1919 and before Ming Cho Lee was born had two older songs. His father majored in business and worked at college in the insurance business department. …show more content…
After changing his major from art then to speech, Ming Cho lee finally decided upon majoring in Theatre. Which would spark a huge step in his career. his first scene design was for a 1951 student production of The Silver Whistle, a comedy by Robert McEnroe. A few years later Lee got to work with New York designer Joe Mielziner, who had designed such shows as Winterset, Death of a Salesman, and Guys and Dolls. Mielziner in 1951 officially hired Lee as his apprentice. He was able to work under Mielziner for many years a designed the revival of many more plays like Guys and Dolls. These experiences allowed him to continue designing for many plays and led him to popularizing the use of Scaffolds, pipes, railings, and set pieces without the realistic nature. This new abstract form of American design called “New Minimalism”.In later years he moved away from the college minimalism of creating a "visual statement" to a more "text-centered" approach that was tied thematically and situationally to the play. Ming Cho Lee very much enjoyed using the literal or visual statement of play and abstracting to mold his signature scene designs. "Dance demands the purest kind of designing because you're dealing with the abstract essence of a dramatic statement, which I express either in sculpture or painting. … Next to Dance, I enjoy designing opera and Shakespeare, which also take design away from the literal …show more content…
Although this isn't a complete surprise, much of Lee’s family has either attended an or worked at the university. Like his father, Lee's stepfather was a member of Yale's class of 1919, and his mother's brother was a 1918 graduate. His primary influence on stage design was exercised through his post as co-chairman of design at the Yale School of Drama, where he began teaching in 1969. He is said to love teaching and rarely misses a class, even though it frequently meant a great deal of commuting. One of Lee's largest contributions as a Teacher is when a major new-talent showcase more popularly called "Ming's Clambake." the annual Lincoln Center gathering known as the National Stage Design Portfolio Review, Launched in the 1970s by the League of Professional Theaters training program. The following years it was canceled due to a lack of funding in the mid-1980s. Lee decided to revive the the show-case by winning the national Endowment for the Arts. With this award Lee was granted $25,000 and he committed money to reviving the Portfolio Review, which is now partly backed by the Lincoln Center Library that houses the
Professor Parker
Intro to theatre
10/12/15
Ming Cho Lee
October 3rd, in the year of 1930, Ming Cho Lee was born. Ming Cho Lee would in later decades be known for bringing forth famous american scene design. Ming Cho is often called the “dean” of American Scene design. In the Scene Designers life he partook or contributed to the theatrical arts in his Early life, Career, and Yale.
Early Life
Ming Cho Lee was born in Shanghai, China. However, after a divorce between his parents when he was six he spent a majority of his time with his father Tsu Fa Lee. His father graduated from Yale in 1919 and before Ming Cho Lee was born had two older songs. His father majored in business and worked at college in the insurance business department. …show more content…
After changing his major from art then to speech, Ming Cho lee finally decided upon majoring in Theatre. Which would spark a huge step in his career. his first scene design was for a 1951 student production of The Silver Whistle, a comedy by Robert McEnroe. A few years later Lee got to work with New York designer Joe Mielziner, who had designed such shows as Winterset, Death of a Salesman, and Guys and Dolls. Mielziner in 1951 officially hired Lee as his apprentice. He was able to work under Mielziner for many years a designed the revival of many more plays like Guys and Dolls. These experiences allowed him to continue designing for many plays and led him to popularizing the use of Scaffolds, pipes, railings, and set pieces without the realistic nature. This new abstract form of American design called “New Minimalism”.In later years he moved away from the college minimalism of creating a "visual statement" to a more "text-centered" approach that was tied thematically and situationally to the play. Ming Cho Lee very much enjoyed using the literal or visual statement of play and abstracting to mold his signature scene designs. "Dance demands the purest kind of designing because you're dealing with the abstract essence of a dramatic statement, which I express either in sculpture or painting. … Next to Dance, I enjoy designing opera and Shakespeare, which also take design away from the literal …show more content…
Although this isn't a complete surprise, much of Lee’s family has either attended an or worked at the university. Like his father, Lee's stepfather was a member of Yale's class of 1919, and his mother's brother was a 1918 graduate. His primary influence on stage design was exercised through his post as co-chairman of design at the Yale School of Drama, where he began teaching in 1969. He is said to love teaching and rarely misses a class, even though it frequently meant a great deal of commuting. One of Lee's largest contributions as a Teacher is when a major new-talent showcase more popularly called "Ming's Clambake." the annual Lincoln Center gathering known as the National Stage Design Portfolio Review, Launched in the 1970s by the League of Professional Theaters training program. The following years it was canceled due to a lack of funding in the mid-1980s. Lee decided to revive the the show-case by winning the national Endowment for the Arts. With this award Lee was granted $25,000 and he committed money to reviving the Portfolio Review, which is now partly backed by the Lincoln Center Library that houses the