Gregory Buck has come all the way from Maryland to be the scenicdesign professor of The University of Memphis theater department inhis first college teaching position.
"This is a job that I've been looking forward to for a longtime," Buck said. "I am able to go into a classroom and havediscussions about theater with people who are enthusiastic andintelligent."
Buck is one of approximately 80 new U of M faculty members invarious departments across campus this semester.
Although the budget crunch The University has been experiencingdidn't allow all open positions to be filled, some were.
The set designer was a key position to fill for the theaterdepartment because it puts a public face on the department'sproductions, said Robert Hetherington, professor and departmentchair of the theater and dance department.
"Some of the others we interviewed may have had a bit moreexperience, but Greg's presentation and portfolio were veryimpressive," Hetherington said. "And that persuaded us that thiswould be the right person for the job."
Buck has been extremely busy with his move and his new job, andwhen he is not designing a set himself, he is helping a student todesign it.
"Greg has had to hit the ground running and has not had muchtime to be gently broken in to his new position," Hetheringtonsaid. "He has two full-time jobs as a professor and as a setdesigner. He told me that he is looking forward to the long weekendso he can catch up and do a lot of drafting for the first setdesign."
Buck has been involved with the theater since he was a child andit did not take him long to discover that he was more interested inthe technical side of theater production. He taught high school inMaryland for five years and recently received his MFA at TheUniversity of Maryland before coming to The U of M.
"My mom signed me up for children's theater, and I have alwaysstuck with it, even though I never was a great performer," Bucksaid. "I tell my students if I was any good at singing, I wouldhave stayed a singer."
In theater, there is a performance side and a technical side.Somewhere along the line, you realize which side is more appealing,Buck said, adding that many people do not realize that there is awhole team of craftspeople working to put together aproduction.
Buck's interest in building began when he worked with sculptureearlier in his life. He enjoys the practical aspect of set designbecause he is able to work three-dimensionally, as insculpture.
"Set design is like sculpture on a really large scale," hesaid.
"The difference is that when the sets are finished, they have apurpose and are used to entertain people.
"When we are finished with the sets they can be thrown awayinstead of collecting dust or taking up storage space."
The first production, "June Moon," opens Thursday, Oct. 9, andis a 1929 American screwball comedy.
"The U of M has a strong theater program and each aspect of itis being covered by a different person," Buck said. "I primarilydesign the sets which is one of the main reasons I came to Memphis,instead of being a jack-of-all-trades within the theater."
