John Ezell (born 1933) is an American

scenic designer Scenic may refer to: * Scenic design * Scenic painting * Scenic overlook * Scenic railroad (disambiguation) * Scenic route * Scenic, South Dakota, United States * Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse Aviation * Airwave Scenic, an Austr ...

and theatre educator. He currently serves as the Hall Family Foundation Professor of Design at the

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, where he leads the UMKC Theatre Scenic Design program.Felicia Londré. "John Ezell" The College Fellows of the American Theatre: Fortieth Anniversary Volume; 1965-2005. Orlin Corey and John R. Cauble, eds. 2005. pg. 80.

Early life

Ezell was born and raised in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He earned his

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in Painting from St. Louis School of Fine Arts at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

(known today as the Sam Fox School) in 1954. Following a period of service in the armed forces, Ezell was accepted to study theatrical design at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

under the tutelage of American scenic designer

Donald Oenslager Donald Oenslager (March 7, 1902 – June 11, 1975) was an American scenic designer who won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design. Biography Oenslager was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and attended Harvard University, graduating in 1923. He bec ...

, where he graduated with his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in Drama in 1960. Ezell served as Head of Scenic Design at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Department of Theatre from between 1964 and 1986. He began teaching at the

in 1986, and currently serves as Head of its M.F.A. degree program in Scenic Design.Jon Drtina. "A Conversation with John Ezell." Theatre Design & Technology 43;1 (Winter 2007), pg. 37-47.

Career

Ezell's design career spans over five decades of work in the professional theatre and includes over 350 productions. His credits include works produced on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, at the

New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...

, the

Crossroads Theatre Crossroads Theatre is an American residence theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, focused on the Black American experience and the African diaspora. It is in residence at the newly built New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, which opened i ...

, the

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

, the Shakespeare Theatre in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, the Hong Kong Repertory Theater, the

Royal Danish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet ( Danish: ''Den Kongelige Ballet'') is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Danish Theatre in Kongens Nytorv, Copenhagen, Denmark. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world a ...

in Copenhagen, the

National Swedish Touring Theatre The National Swedish Touring Theatre () is the largest touring theatre company in Sweden. It serves as Sweden's national stage on tour. The company is owned and funded by 240 local economic associations spread throughout the country. Their mai ...

, and the

Cullberg Ballet Cullberg Ballet () is a Swedish contemporary dance company. It was founded by the modern dancer and pioneer choreographer Birgit Cullberg in 1967, who brought it to fame. After Cullberg's retirement in 1985 the company was until 1993 run by her so ...

in Stockholm. Ezell's designs have also been featured in numerous regional theatre productions, including performances at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area, and is the professional theater-in-residence at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC). The theatre has had five artis ...

(formerly the Missouri Repertory Theatre), the Arizona Theatre Company, Chicago's Second City, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, the

Milwaukee Repertory Theater Milwaukee Repertory Theater ("Milwaukee Rep") is a theater company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded as the Fred Miller Theatre Company, the group is housed in the Associated Bank Theater Center, which includes the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, th ...

, and the

Cincinnati Playhouse The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that ...

. The retrospective exhibition ''Bold Strokes and Finesse; the Stage Designs of John Ezell'', based upon his work, has been on show in museums and galleries across North America. In 1994, Ezell adapted the

charrette A charrette (American pronunciation: /ʃɑːˈrɛt/; French: �aʁɛt, often Anglicized to charette or charet and sometimes called a design charrette, is a collaborative, intense period of design or planning activity. The term was introduced to m ...

process, a system of artistic study utilized by the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

in Paris during the 19th-century, into a training process for theatrical design, a system that is now used by multiple schools.Andy Pierce. "Avoiding the Gallows." Theatre Design & Technology. (Fall 2006), 11-13. He serves as a consultant to Yale University's

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts and ...

, and was invested in the

College of Fellows of the American Theatre The College of Fellows of the American Theatre is an honorary society of outstanding theatre educators and professional theatre practitioners. Origin The organization was formed in 1965 as a project proposed by members of the American Theatre Ass ...

in 2004. Ezell has been the recipient of numerous awards. His professional merits include eleven Critics' Circle Awards, an Award for Experimental Television Art at the International Non-Commercial Television Festival in Milan, and a

Corporation for Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB; stylized as cpb) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to ...

Award for Excellence. Ezell was recognized for his contributions to American theatre on the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the Yale School of Drama, and was the recipient of Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Award in 2001.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ezell, John 1933 births Living people Artists from St. Louis American scenic designers David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City faculty University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni Washington University in St. Louis alumni