Kert Lundell (American, b.1936, d.2000)
Date of birth
1936
Date of death
Sep 11 2000
Place of birth
Place of death
Related information
Biography
After studying at the Goodman Theatre and Yale University, Kert Lundell went on to design 14 productions for the American Place Theatre, a theatre converted from a church. The space has few of the amenities usually associated with a specially designed stage such as proscenium, front curtain, wings, or fly loft. Therefore, to deal with major design challenges, Lundell relied on the platform unit, along with a philosophy that he expressed in a 1967 article in Theatre Crafts: "...the first obligation a designer has is to the play. His sets must meet demands. To balance the 'place' against the play is not always easy, especially since the two may have nothing to do with one another...When the demands are met -- that of leaving the 'place' undisturbed and that of satisfying the needs of a play -- the setting seems to emerge almost as an extension of the walls and the arches."
