2010-11 Donor Report - The Country School

A Review of…Set Design WorkshopSubmitted by Rick OsborneOn June 24th and 25th I attended a workshopon set design offered by the EducationDepartment of the Shaw Theatre Festivalat Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. Our instructor wasBill Schmuck, Shaw Festival Director of Design, whodesigned the costumes and set for this year’s productionof George Bernard Shaw’s play, Candida.Prior to our arrival, each workshopparticipant read the play, Candida,and created his/her own set design.Upon my arrival at the workshop, Iwas pleased to discover that I wasone of only eight participants. Thesmall size of the class provided manywonderful opportunities for livelydialogue and exchanges of ideas.Our class was taken through eachstep of the creative process includingbasic drafting, the use of softwareprograms for creating virtual models,and set model construction. We alsolearned about the role of technicaldirectors and their approach toconstruction of a finished set design.Our class attended a performance ofCandida after which we remained inthe theatre to observe the “changeover” in which the set of one showis “struck” and then replaced withthe set of another show. Duringthe workshop we also met with thedirector of this year’s production ofTennessee Williams’, Cat on a Hot TinRoof and gained insights into thedirector/set designer relationship aswell as the use of color, texture,lighting, and location of set piecesand entrances as tools for evokingmood and setting.During my stay I attended fiveshows (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,Candida, My Fair Lady, The President,and The Admirable Crichton) andhad the opportunity to observemany different approaches to setand lighting design. I came awayfrom the workshop thankful forthis opportunity to learn from the“big dogs” and arrived home witha renewed enthusiasm and energyfor the work I do here at TheCountry School. I deeply appreciatethe support of the school’sadministration in my undertakingthis venture and I especially wantto thank the France-MerrickFoundation and the Pinkard Familyfor their financial support.Now, on to designing the set for thisyear’s Upper School production ofBeauty and the Beast!Remembering…Clayton CarterMember of The Country School’s Luminary Society and former Queen Anne’sCounty Circuit Court Judge Clayton Cann Carter died July 30 at age 92. Carterwas born on October 15, 1918, to William H. and Olivia Cann Carter.He became state’s attorney in Queen Anne’s County in 1950 and was appointedassociate judge of the District Court of Maryland in 1971. Gov. Blair Leeappointed him associate judge of the Second Judicial Circuit in 1978 and thenChief Judge of the Circuit in 1987. He retired in 1988.Carter leaves behind two daughters from his first marriage to HenriettaMcKenney Holton, Marcia Goldsborough Carter Mason and Nancy BiddleCarter Middaugh and their husbands, Charles and Roger, respectively, allof whom live in Virginia. Rachel Goss, who is the daughter of Carter’s 1967marriage to Carol Ann Weber, lives in Chestertown with her husband, Steven.Carter is also survived by his granddaughter, Ryan Mason Hill and her husband,Lee, and grandsons, Steven Christopher Goss and Zachary Carter Goss.Nancy Burroughs RequardtNancy Burroughs Firth Requardt of Trappe died May 14, 2011. She was 83. Bornin Pittsburgh in 1928, she moved to Easton in 1934 and became a member ofthe founding class of The Country School. She then went on to attend MissPorter’s School in Connecticut, and graduated from Bennett College in 1947.Mrs. Requardt wed the late Thomas T. Firth Jr. in 1949, and together they hadfour children. In 1974, she wed J. Frederic Requardt Jr. Mrs. Requardt is survivedby her four children, Caryl R. Firth of West Palm Beach, Fla., Nancy F. Corsonof Trappe, Thomas T. Firth III of Chevy Chase, and Richard B. Firth of Trappe;eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by herhusband, J. Frederic Requardt Jr. of Trappe; a sister, Emily McCoy of Greenville,Del., and a brother, Richard Burroughs of Boca Grande, Fla. She is predeceasedby her brother, Davis Burroughs.Because of his thoughtful consideration and planning, The Country School willbenefit from his generosity for many years to come.23