Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/974985
M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 8 | P E R S P E C T I V E 9 C R A I G J A C K S O N A native of the East Coast, Jackson moved to Chicago to study theatrical set design at Northwestern University. After graduation, he worked as a designer for several Chicago theater companies, and subsequently branched out into design for exhibits, museums and corporate events. He found that as the work got more and more corporate, it became less intriguing. A chance introduction to legendary Production Designer Henry Bumstead got him interested in film design. With Henry's encouragement, he quit full-time design work the week his first daughter was born to start a career in film. He worked his way up through Art Departments in Chicago, eventually working regularly as an Art Director. His credits include films such as Stranger Than Fiction, The Dark Knight and Man of Steel. His first major Production Design credit was the film The Unborn for director David Goyer. He is now finishing up his sixth year as Production Designer for Chicago Fire. He still lives in Chicago with his wife and three daughters. In addition to film and television, he continues a freelance business designing trade show exhibits and corporate events. M A R A L E P E R E - S C H L O O P grew up in Detroit, Michigan, with a mother who taught Greek mythology and poetry and a father who was an engineer and a labor negotiator. Definitely the byproduct of these two distinct personalities, Mara took an early interest in combining the methodologies of thinking and expression, getting involved with technical design for the stage with the prestigious Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit at the age of 11. Under the mentorship of artistic director Juliana Haubrich, Mara spent several years apprenticing in the world of stage design, construction and stage management. C O N T R I B U T O R S Travel was also a critical component of her early upbringing, and she was fortunate to spend summers in Greece, Denmark and Brazil, either traveling with family, the theater or on her own with a youth exchange program. She went on to spend her junior year of high school in Slovakia, living with a family as part of an immersive study abroad program. The ability to see different cultures and arts at an early age, has led to her lifelong thirst for new discoveries and adventure. With a master's degree in architecture from Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, Mara has worked as an architect, furniture designer and builder, and as project manager for the international nonprofit, Learn to Live, building rainwater catchment and filtration systems in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Mara currently resides in New Orleans with her funny and remarkably tolerant husband, Nick Jenisch, and their two remarkably stubborn dogs, Mishka and Frankie. D O U G M E E R D I N K was born and raised in Perrysburg, Ohio. During his studies of architecture at Miami University, Ohio and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute Consortium in Washington, DC, Doug acquired an early fascination with the creative intersection between architecture and film. After moving to Los Angeles, he first explored this convergence as Production Designer of a few Roger Corman films. This soon led him to two seasons of science fiction television (Babylon 5) and admittance into both the Art Directors' and Set Designers' guilds. Doug's first union feature film work was on Titanic, which opened a path to Set Design and Art Direction work on Contact, Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, Jurassic Park III, War of the Worlds and more. His first Production Design opportunity came on Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! Doug is also a consultant for Universal Studios on entertainment installations both in the US and internationally. Currently, Doug is the Art Director for the Academy Museum of Motion Picture's Core Exhibit Design Team—a team helping to realize the opening of the museum in late 2019. Doug lives in Eagle Rock with his wife Leia, and their son Sutter.