Franco Colavecchia
SELECTED WORKS
There may be no better way to communicate what we do than through images. As you browse our site, take a few moments to let your eyes linger here, and see if you can get a feel for our signature touch.
Timeline
195?–1966
Malaysia & the United Kingdom
FROM THE ARMY TO THE ARTS
[talk about army experience & how that influenced later works]
Colavecchia's formal arts education spanned eight years of rigorous study, beginning at Lincoln College of Art in 1958. He subsequently studied at St. Martins College of Art, then Wimbledon College of Art, and finally the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London.
His talent was apparent even in these early years – he received The Royal Society Award for Art and Industry in 1964 and The Rediffusion TV Award in 1965.
1966–1970
United Kingdom
THE EARLY YEARS
Colavecchia cut his teeth on scenographic design at the Oxford Playhouse Company as the Resident Designer, dreaming up sets, costumes, and sometimes masks for productions such as The Lady’s Not for Burning, Richard II, and She Stoops to Conquer.
In 1968, he designed for four productions at the Edinburgh Festival, and was awarded The Awards to Artists in the Theatre from the British Arts Council. From there, he became the Head of Design at the Phoenix Theatre Company in Leicester until 1970.
1970–1975
Cambridge, MA, USA
THE ARCHIVE
In 1970, Colavecchia moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was the design consultant for MIT’s Kresge Theatre and Harvard University’s Loeb Drama Center simultaneously, and also lectured at Harvard University throughout this period.
He designed a plethora of sets and costumes for both theaters, as well as The Magic Flute at the New England Conservatory of Music (1971), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe at the Charles St. Playhouse (1971), and The Dance of Death for the Boston Theatre Company (1974). [mention Un Chien Volant?]
In 1975, Colavecchia returned to Europe[?] to design sets and costumes for Eritrea at the Wexford Opera Festival in Ireland.
1999–2000
New York City, NY, USA
COLAVECCHIA STUDIOS
Colavecchia was one of many artists who flooded into SoHo in the 1970s, drawn by the abandoned lofts that could be customized for a myriad of creative endeavors. He founded Colavecchia Studios at 98 Green Street, and, accompanied by his cat Cadmium, spent the next 25 years designing up a storm for both stage and screen. During this period, he designed for productions in over 20 different cities across the United States, as well as Toronto, London, Oslo, Monaco, and Prague, where he represented the USA in the Prague Quadrennial.
In the studio’s earliest days, Colavecchia designed the sets and costumes for Treemonisha at the Houston Opera House. The production was transferred to the Washington Opera House in D.C., then to the Uris Theatre on Broadway in New York City, and toured to the Michigan Opera in Detroit. In 1980, it was televised for Great American Musicals on PBS.
[mention people he worked with – Frank Corsaro, Toby Robertson, Arthur Masella, Ian Strasfogel… also Pavarotti]
In addition to creating, he continued to be an educator. He was the Associate Professor for Set & Costume Design and Associate Professor of Design at SUNY Purchase, a guest professor for Drama & Design at Carnegie Mellon, Head of the Scenic Design at the Theatre School at DePaul University, Associate English Professor at Colgate University, a designer and lecturer at Juilliard, and a Master Teacher of Design & Production at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
His work was included in The Stage Designers Concept published by Deutsche Grammophon, as well as Costume Design: Techniques of Modern Masters and Drawing and Painting for the Theatre by Lyn Pecktal.
[exhibitions]
[1984 interviewed on Live From Lincoln Center]
[mention So Bracing, acting in NYU student films, series of 100 heads?]
1999–2000
Heading 5
THE ARCHIVE
Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site. Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site. Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site.
Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site.
Helvetica Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site.
