GUY COLWELL             e-mail
Resume of Dramatic Arts,
Cinematic Arts,
 Theatrical Design and      
Scenic Painting experience

(A career subplot)          



1953
3rd Grade, Allendale Elementary School, Oakland. Played George Washington in the Cherry Tree story. Assisted in fabricating and painting scenery for same.

1958
8th grade, Garfield Junior High School, Berkeley. Take a year of drama classes. Loved being part of doing plays but gravitated to backstage and scenic aspects. Assisted in fabricating and painting sets for some school productions.

1960-61
Berkeley High School. Put to work by art teacher designing posters and programs for numerous school productions. Occasionally called upon to assist with scene painting.

1961-62
Deep interest in animation provoked crude attempt to make a film. Little success due to lack of necessary resources and equipment, but the experience heightened interest in cartooning and story telling.

1962
Enrolled in Berkeley High School’s stagecraft course. Trained in stage design, wood frame flat fabrication and scenic painting. Actively contributed to school productions including The King and I, Blithe Spirit, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Death takes a Holiday and Several Variety shows. Berkeley Community Theater and Schwimley Little Theater were classrooms. Began to consider Stage design as a career. Developed several scene designs for a projected production of Brigadoon which was canceled.

1963
California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland. Enrolled in Stage Design course. Did drawings and models in classroom but as there were no dramatic arts activities on campus, no productions of any kind, somewhat lost interest and focused more energy on the study of painting but often jumped at opportunities for stage work.


Preliminary drawing for model of set for short play by Oscar Wilde
  Classroom project for CCAC Stage Design course      
1969
Mcneil Island Prison, while serving 2 year term for Vietnam draft refusal, organized and operated environmental elements and lightshow for inmate rock concert.                        

1970's
Author of critically acclaimed underground comic book series "Inner City Romance". The first of this 5 book series called "A Masterpiece" by cartoonist Robert Crumb. The second book, a full blown rock opera which has been recited to audiences by actors on a few occasions, though never put into full production. It has often been said that these stories could have been the basis for powerful scripts or screenplays.

1973
Subject of a film by Richard Gaikowski on the making of a sculpture.

1978(?)
Created sketches and models on speculation for a proposed production of The Tempest. The fly-by-night “producer” who talked about recruiting a stage designer never followed through to make use of this work.


Model for Act1, Scene 1, The Tempest                                                                

1986
Briefly associated with proposed traveling theater company to be known as the Peace Arts Caravan. Assisted with drawings in the conceptualization of simple portable sets.

1989
Auburn Arts Center, Auburn CA. Recruited by Auburn Theater Company to design, build and paint sets for a community theater production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Created 2 basic sets, interior and exterior for small outdoor stage. Simple but effective.


Interior setting - Theseus' Palace                                                  


Exterior setting - Fairy Forest                                                      


1990
Auburn Theater Company. Elements of Midsummer Night's Dream stage set adapted for use in production of Under Milk Wood.

1990
Subject of a documentary on painting by KVIE Arts Alive, Sacramento.

1990's
Author of critically acclaimed and contoversial graphic novels "Doll". Again, it has often been remarked that these stories should be made into motion pictures, the theatrical/cinematic qualities being very strong.

1992
Self-produced fully scripted and scored video documentary about fine art painting called New Revolutions.

1989-2005
Increased skill at scenic painting by taking on numerous mural projects.

2005-2007
Received several commissions to do scenic photographer’s backdrops.


"Mandala" for use by photographer as backdrop, 10' x 12'                      


50's theme photographer's backdrop, 10' x 12'                                            


2007
Created series of models to practice basics of designing for Thrust Stage. Models available for viewing.

Final Note: Throughout a more than 35-year professional career as exhibiting fine artist, curating, designing and hanging hundreds of art shows has informed and enhanced skills in scenic presentation and understanding audience response to visual material. Click on Links in main menu then click on Art At Large where you will find a full resume of fine art activities.

Main Menu