Susan Crabtree, an author and an award-winning scenic designer with three decades of teaching experience, is the new director of scenic art. Crabtree has co-authored three scenic art textbooks and is collaborating on a book about scene painting technique and pedagogy. She has received three awards for scenic design from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and a Best Scenic Design of the Season Award from the Colorado Theatre Guild.
She has taught at Colorado State University, Brandeis University, the University of Michigan, the University of Arkansas, Metro State University and Santa Chiara Study Center in Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Her professional scenic design experience includes “The Nutcracker” Ballet for On Point Academy in Des Moines, Iowa, and for Boulder (Colo.) Ballet; and work for The Local Theater Company in Boulder; the University of Denver, Colorado State University, and Curious Theatre Company in Denver; Bas Bleu Theatre Company in Fort Collins, Colo.; and the University of Michigan. Crabtree has an M.A. and a B.A. in technical theatre and scenic design from the University of Northern Colorado and has completed coursework in the Ph.D. program in theater history at the University of Colorado.