The Scenic Route: Ming Cho Lee's Stage Life

Ming Cho Lee, theatricaldesign.nmhblogs.org

Called the "dean" of American scene design, Ming Cho Lee shaped the face and future of design in professional theater and opera in America beginning in the late 1960s through his work on Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and the Metropolitan Opera and by teaching design at the Yale School of Drama.

 Ming Cho Lee(李名觉) is considered to be the most influential stage designer in the United States in the past forty years, and one of the most respected designers in the world. He is one of  Tony Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 nominations.

Born on October 3, 1930, in Shanghai, China, Lee came from a wealthy family. His mother Tang Ying was a well-educated woman, and a member of high society in Shanghai. Tang, who also performed in some plays, often took her son to watch operas instilling in him a love of theater. She also arranged for him to be tutored by the well-known Chinese landscape painter Zhang Daqian. Lee's father was a 1919 Yale graduate who was in the international insurance business. When his parents divorced when he was six, Lee was sent to live with his father.

In 1948, Lee left Shanghai for Hong Kong with his father and completed high school there, but he was denied entry to the University of Hong Kong due to poor English skills. He then enrolled at Occidental College in Los Angeles, majoring in art so that he would not have too many English-language courses to pass. Because he came to the U.S. as a college student, Lee never felt like a part of the Chinese American community. "I never had experience of growing up as Chinese American or being part of a family who came over as true immigrants," he explains. "I never experienced that kind of prejudice. I was always accepted as a guest."

Lee then went to the University of Southern California (USC) to study film. During 1948 and 1949, he watched many films in Hong Kong where his uncle owned a film studio. But after studying film for a summer, Lee soon switched his major to speech at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) after deciding he would go into the theater, and his first scene design was for a 1951 student production of The Silver Whistle, a comedy by Robert McEnroe. He received his B.A. in theater in 1953 and continued to design as a graduate student at UCLA. He impressed stage lighting designer Eddie Kook, who recommended him to the famed New York designer Joe Mielziner. Mielziner hired Lee as his apprentice in 1954. After five years he became an assistant designer.

Stage models for Electra designed by Ming Cho Lee. Photos: Shi Hao

"Essentially, I spent eight years as an assistant designer, working for Jo and some other set designers, which is a longer period than many other American designers. That is because I didn't go to Yale, I didn't know a lot of people, and I was known only as an assistant designer," he said.

After a jobless year, he worked for the San Francisco Opera as an assistant designer. Later, he was interviewed, and hired by Joseph Papp from the New York Shakespeare Festival.

1962 saw Lee's first Broadway play The Moon Besieged as a scenic designer, and this was followed by more than 20 Broadway productions."The 12 years, from 1962 to 1973, working for Joseph Papp made me become a set designer in my own right," he said.

Because of his long interest in opera, Lee later designed for many opera houses including the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera and the San Francisco Opera.

Now long retired from designing, Lee devotes his time to teaching and training. Many successful set designers active in the US and on the world stage today have received instruction from Lee.

To listen to what a master stage designer said about the scenic route.

An infrequent visitor to Shanghai, Lee returned to China mostly for work projects. In 1978 he visited Suzhou with a curator from The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, who was looking for inspiration for a traditional Chinese garden for an exhibition at the museum.

In 1994 Lee came to Shanghai to work on a production of The Joy Luck Club with the Shanghai People's Art Theater. And at the same time, he was designing Nine Songs with Taiwan's famous Cloud Gate Dance Theater (choreographed by Lin Huai-min), and spent this time shuttling back and forth between Shanghai and Taipei.

"I have been Americanized - strictly and completely. I am American educated and trained. I have forgotten my Chinese language, while in some way I'm still aware of my Chinese identity in the background." Lee admitted that as he got older, many of his Shanghai relatives suggested he should present his life's work to the people of his birthplace.

With regards to his inspiration Lee said: "I immerse myself in a story, and ideas emerge from that story as opposed to me contemplating a certain external look."

As the co-chairman of the Design Department at the Yale School of Drama since 1979 and one of the most influential set designers and mentors in the US today, Lee has worked on more than 200 shows including Broadway and off-Broadway productions, operas and dance events both in the US and overseas. In 1983 the Broadway production K2 earned him a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design. In 2002 he was also honored with the National Medal of Arts.

The Design of Ming Cho Lee by Delbert Unruh presents the designs of this widely regarded and well known theatrical designer, mentor, and teacher. Foreword by Jon Jory. The book contains lovely illustrations of set models, renderings, production photographs, and discusses the major designs of this widely regarded and well known theatrical designer, mentor, and teacher. The story of Mr. Lee's career is accompanied by a list of his production credits, awards and nominations, and memberships.

If you are interested in story about Ming Cho Lee, please visit china.org.cn