Meet Dean Taucher, set designer for Blackbird

Soon after selecting Blackbird, director Dennis Zacek reached out to a longtime friend, nationally acclaimed set designer Dean Taucher, to create a realistic scenic design for his production.

A Chicago native, Dean designed sets for some of Victory Gardens’ earliest productions, including Steve Carter’s Eden and Molnar’s The Play’s the Thing, as well as our 1978 premiere of William Norris’ Dillinger – William Petersen’s first Equity production, directed by Dennis Zacek.

Dean is now in his 10^th season designing for the hit TV show Law & Order SVU.   Dean, who just launched his own web site, www.deantaucher.com, sent us this entry for Backstage at the Biograph:

I was born in Oak Park, famously the site of the Frank Lord Wright home and studio and his Unity Temple. I stepped in design from the earliest age, chose a life in the theater over architecture and studied set design at The Goodman School of Drama in which I received an associate’s degree in 1976. At that time the Goodman was part of the Art Institute of Chicago and was situated where the New Renzo Piano modern addition now stands.

After the Goodman, I was fortunate to immediately begin my design career at many of Chicago’s off-loop theaters. From St. Nicholas, Body Politic, The Organic, Goodman Stage II, and Victory Gardens Theater, and working with the likes of Dennis Zacek, Stuart Gordon, Joe Mantegna, Dennis Franz and William Petersen.

Spurred on by the tragedy of my brother’s suicide, five years after that of my father’s, I spent the next year in Italy studying at the Rome Campus of Loyola University. My time in Rome and extensive travel throughout Europe was restorative and enlightening. It was a young man’s grand tour on a budget.

Thanks to my membership in the United Scenic Artists, I was able to immediately work as a scenic artist on many Broadway shows when I moved to New York.

Broadway, Radio City, the Metropolitan Opera, A.B.T., New York City Ballet, Saturday Night Live and major feature films: This was my masters program. Working with the best and being paid. From my work on feature films as a scenic artist I was able to meet and work with the likes of Pal and Richard Sylbert and Mel Bourne on the movie Manhunter as charge scenic and also assistant art director. That brought me to the attention of Michael Mann, the director of Manhunter. From there it has been nearly a straight line to my present job as production designer on Law and Order Special Victims Unit.

On Law & Order SVU, I oversee a crew of 35 which expands and can often double depending on the needs of that particular episode. More sets to build, paint, and dress equals more crew.  I also help choose all the locations traveling with a team of directors, producer, location manager and assistant directors (who set all schedules and run the set- similar to a theatrical stage manager). After the locations are chosen we often alter them to make the action of the scene work or to underpin the economic historic and emotional space the scripted character inhibits.

As for Blackbird, when Dennis and I talked after I read the script, the two operative things he said to me was that it should feel like the characters are in a fish bowl, and there is nowhere for them to hide.   The other needs are specific to the script: an indeterminate room in an indeterminate building, somewhere. We all know places like this. Clear, right?

After a few sketches which weren’t fish bowl enough or afforded  too much hiding space, we arrived at the final design now standing on the Biograph stage.

I have enjoyed my collaboration with Dennis and I am amazed at the subtlety and power that Billy and Mattie have brought to their roles.

Tell your friends this is a show worth seeing,

All my best,

Dean