DESIGN
STORM

REGISTER ONLINE BY DECEMBER 31, 2026!

Interested in collaboration? Design Storm offers a unique opportunity to work alongside peers from across the region at our Annual Festival Conference. Directors, designers, and dramaturgs from different institutions are brought together in interdisciplinary teams to envision and develop their ideal production in a timed collaborative event. Participants are challenged to reimagine a classic or contemporary text, exploring innovative concepts and creative approaches that push beyond traditional interpretations and previous productions.

Scripts and librettos for Design Storm are selected from the same approved list used for Regional Design Projects. Students planning to submit a Regional Design Project should take this into consideration when selecting their top three play preferences for Design Storm. To encourage a wider range of creative exploration and collaborative engagement, participants are strongly encouraged to choose plays that differ from the work they are using for their Regional Design Project.

 

    Regional Design Project List of Plays

    The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

    Head Over Heels by James Magruder and Jeff Whitty

    The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman

    The Aliens by Annie Baker

    Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee

    The Moors by Jen Silverman

    Lonely Planet by Steven Dietz

    Design Storm Registration Form

    REGISTER NOW
    • The DTM Chair and/or Design Storm Coordinator will organize the registrants into teams composed of as many of the following as the student registrations allow: director, dramaturg, designers (lighting, sound, scenic, costume, make-up) and using members from as many different schools as possible.
    • Before the Festival Conference, each individual will be informed, by email, about their production team position and the play they will be working on for this event.
    • Participants will have the opportunity to meet their teammates for the first time during the introductory meeting at the Festival Conference.
    • Read the script or libretto chosen.
    • Do general research and script analysis related to the play and your production responsibility.

    Design Storm Schedule at the Festival Conference

    Detailed schedules with times and locations will be sent to participants by email before the Festival Conference.

    Introductory meeting (mandatory) in the Design Storm room.
     

    • Team members will meet for 1 hour for introductions, initial conceptual discussions, and to set a schedule for production meetings, and expectations the following days.
      • Please Note: When setting the team’s schedule, be prepared to spend 5-10 hours on this project during the week.

    Expectations

    • Team members are responsible for following the schedule and expectations created by the teams at the introductory meeting.
      • Communicating in person or virtually to support the collaboration.
      • Attend and participate in the team’s scheduled production meetings.
      • Take preparation time to be ready for meetings and collaboration.
        ideas about the project.
    • Individuals may continue to work on their own outside the allotted meeting hours to conceive your own ideas, gather research, or prepare your portion of the presentation
    • Team members should bring any materials and tools specific to their respective disciplines that they anticipate needing during the project. Some supplemental supplies will be available in the DTM Design Storm area for teams to use.

    Concept Statement

    • Each director is required to turn in a concept statement (one typed page) via email to the Design Storm Coordinator.

    Presentation Day

    • Each team will be provided with a 4′ wide x 8′ high panel to post their conceptual write-ups, drawings, swatches, images, and whatever the team deems appropriate to communicate the concept of the play.
    • Each team will present their materials to the Directing, Dramaturgy, and Design Respondents.
    • There will be approximately 10 minutes for each team to present their idea and approximately 10 minutes for discussion with the respondents.
    • Each team will present its materials in the format of its choosing. All team members are expected to participate in the presentation and articulate how their individual contributions support the overall design concept.

      Descriptions of Individual Assignments

      for Collaborative Teams

      Director

      You have total freedom as the director to develop the production intention/concept however you would like. Since you know the text and have a good idea what it is about, choose a new or different way of presenting it on stage than that of anything previous. Think of what message you would like to communicate to an audience and how you will use your production to accomplish this.

      What are the themes of the written text?

      Given this, describe your directorial intention for the production. With these two pieces of information, and working with your dramaturg, prepare remarks for your designers

      During the collaboration, the director will connect with the team members to ensure alignment with the production intent/concept.

      Dramaturg

      You will be working on a classic or contemporary text. Given the mission of theatre to produce classical plays in innovative ways, focus your pre-directorial research on approaches that would make this production unlike any others previous. Having collected pertinent production history and socio-cultural context information, generate a "Letter to the Director"/ "Talking Points" that will push the director and designers towards innovation.

      Designers

      Following the Director's presentation of the production concept at the introductory meeting on Wednesday, you will collaborate with the production team on this play. Prior to the first scheduled production meeting, develop your own ideas related to the Director's vision, considering how the play/musical’s mood, tone, and style may inform your specific design. Subsequent production meetings should be used to work collaboratively with other members of the team to create a cohesive visual realization of the concept. Each designer will present their work using the format and supporting materials they determine to be most effective in communicating their final design.

      • Lighting Designer - Supporting materials could include research (both informational and visual), hand drawn or CAD generated (such Virtual Light Lab) final looks, details about the use of any practicals (such as a lamp or chandelier), any representation of light angles and distribution, color choices, and any other lighting paperwork.
      • Costume Designer - Supporting materials could include research (both informational and visual), fabric choices, colors, and renderings.
      • Sound Designer - Supporting materials could include information research, thoughts on environmental sounds, mood enhancement, and music, atmosphere, where the sounds are placed in the theatre, and the use of volume.
      • Scenic Designer - Supporting materials could include research (both informational and visual), Thumbnail sketches, “found object” scenic model, paint elevation (use of color, texture, and style for each surface), and information about furniture and/or props.
      • Make-up Designer - Supporting materials could include research (both informational and visual), inspiration from the primary research, color palette, make-up maps, and thoughts on the use of special effects make-up or prosthetics.

      For the presentations, teams will work collaboratively to create a visually interesting display on the 4’X 8’ panel provided. Design Storm displays are similar to the design displays in the DTM EXPO. Click the button below for information about the EXPO displays for reference. (Disregard information about the Online Gallery.)

      DTM How to Prepare - Design