Collette Pollard

Collette Pollard serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at the School of Theatre and Music, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), holding an MFA from Northwestern University. She maintains an active professional career as a scenic designer with extensive national and international credits spanning theatre, opera, and experimental performance.

Education:

• Master of Fine Arts, Northwestern University

Professor Pollard specializes in immersive scenic design across classical and contemporary performance genres. Her work demonstrates mastery in transforming theatrical spaces through innovative approaches to period pieces like Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, modern dramas including 1984 and Between Riverside and Crazy, and operatic productions such as Don Giovanni and Falstaff. Her design philosophy integrates historical research with technical experimentation to create environments that actively shape narrative and audience perception.

Awards:

• Joseph Jefferson Award for Scenic Design (In the Garden, Lookingglass Theatre)
• Joseph Jefferson Award for Scenic Design (The Front Page, Timeline Theatre)
• Michael Merritt Maggio Emerging Designer Award (2010)

While the source material doesn't specify student advising details or grant funding, Professor Pollard maintains significant artistic affiliations as an Artistic Associate at Timeline Theatre and Company Member at Chicago's House Theatre, where she has designed over 20 productions including The Hammer Trinity, Rose and the Rime, and The Magnificents. Her professional practice directly informs her pedagogy in courses like THTR 250: Scenic Design I and THTR 255: Scenic Design II.