Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531774
2 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 N E W S Set Designers, Model Makers and Previs Artists Craft Winner: Barbara Mesney A native of New York City, Barbara graduated from the High School of Performing Arts, which put her firmly in the entertainment industry from an early age. Having been stage manager for all the weekly stage productions at Performing Arts, Barbara's love of all things backstage and away from the limelight was cemented. She went on to graduate from San Francisco State University with a degree in Scenic Design and technical theater. Immediately following graduation, Barbara worked as a scenic and mural artist. In partnership, she worked on figurative interior murals in oil colors for The Golden Nugget, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as the Hilton Hotel at Disney World. As a lead Scenic Artist, she worked in various regional venues, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland; the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco; The Empty Space, ACT and The Intimate Theaters in Seattle; San Jose Repertory Theatre; Santa Rosa Summer Rep, as well as many other venues. Her work as a theatrical scenic designer developed concurrent to her work as a Scenic Artist and she designed for many regional theaters, including American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco Opera, Virginia Opera, Western Opera, Berkeley Rep, the Magic Theatre, Eureka Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival, Santa Cruz Shakespeare Festival, Pickle Family Circus, Marin Theatre Company, San Jose Rep, Tacoma Actors Guild, among many others. Barbara was the recipient of numerous Dramalogue and Bay Area Theatre Critics Awards for her design work. She served as associate designer for the American Conservatory Theatre for several years, where, in addition to her own scenic designs, she supervised all drafting and model making for all productions each season. She was responsible for the supervision and finishing of all sets through to opening night. She knew nothing about filmmaking when she interviewed for the set designer position on the film Class Action, a fully union feature filmed in San Francisco under the local jurisdiction of IATSE Local 16. To her truly great surprise, she was offered the job. She loved being in the Art Department, so for the next five years, she attempted to straddle both live theater and film. This included stage designs overseas for The Greenwich Theatre in London, England, as well as the televised awards show The Golden Eye Awards in Oostende, Belgium. She continued working on movies filming in San Francisco, including Basic Instinct; So I Married an Axe Murderer; among others. She was encouraged by several Production Designers she worked with to make the move A. BARBARA MESNEY. B. FIREPLACE DETAIL FOR HAUNTED MANSION (2023). A B A D G L I F E T I M E A C H I E V E M E N T AWA R D B A R B A R A M E S N E Y