G. W. "Skip" Mercier (July 20, 1954 – March 11, 2021) was an American costume, puppet, and

set designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

. He has designed for over 370 productions of theater,

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, opera, dance, film, and television. He is best known for his set and costume designs for ''Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass'' in which he received a Tony Award Nomination for Scenery and two Drama Desk Nominations for Scenic Design and Costume Design in 1997. He was a member of the faculty at the

University of Washington School of Drama The School of Drama is an undergraduate and graduate theatre school in the Arts Division of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1940, the School of Drama offers a Bachelor's degree ...

, where he taught scenic design and costume design to both graduate students and undergraduates.

Life

Mercier was born in

Methuen, Massachusetts Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...

on July 20, 1954, and was raised in nearby Haverhill. In 1980, Mercier graduated

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

with a BA in Dramatic Art and in 1983 received his MFA at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

where he was named the Oenslager Scholar. Starting in 1983, he became a Resident Designer for the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference until 2004 and has been the O'Neill National Theater Institute's design instructor for over 20 years. He is also a Resident Designer for the Vineyard Theater in New York City and

Geva Theatre Center Geva Theatre Center is a regional, not-for-profit, professional theatre company based in Rochester, New York. It is housed in an 1868 building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, located in Rochester at 75 Woodbury Boulevard. The C ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. He currently works at the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

as a senior design lecturer. At the Vineyard Theater, he has received three Drama Desk Nominations for ''Bed and Sofa'' (1996) by Polly Pen and Laurence Klavan, ''Dream True'' (1999) by

Tina Landau Tina Landau (born May 21, 1962) is an American playwright and theatre director. Known for her large-scale, musical, and ensemble-driven work, Landau's productions have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, most extensively at the ...

and

Ricky Ian Gordon Ricky Ian Gordon (born May 15, 1956) is an American composer of art song, opera and musical theatre. Life Gordon was born in Oceanside, New York. He was raised by his mother, Eve, and father, Sam, and he grew up on Long Island with his three sist ...

, and ''Head of Passes'' (2016) by Tarell McCraney. He also received the

AUDELCO award AUDELCO, the Audience Development Committee, Inc., was established in 1973 by Vivian Robinson to honor excellence in African American theatre in New York City. AUDELCO presents the Vivian Robinson/AUDELCO Recognition Awards (also known as Viv awar ...

for Outstanding Set Design and was regionally honored with the "Bay Area Critics Award" at

Berkeley Repertory Theater Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley. History The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident p ...

for ''Head of Passes'' (2016). His first

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production was ''Juan Darien: A Carnival Mass'' (1997) by

Julie Taymor Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera and film. Her stage adaptation of ''The Lion King'' debuted in 1997, and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for Best ...

and Elliot Goldenthalat at the Vivian Beaumont where he received a Tony Award Nomination for Scenery and two additional Drama Desk Nominations for Scenic Design and Costume Design. He has also designed sets for ''

Old Hats ''Old Hats'' is a 2013 comedy sketch, revue, musical and clown show written and performed by David Shiner and Bill Irwin, the show debuted in New York City. Musician Nellie McKay also performed in the 2013 show. The original 2013 Off-Broadway ...

'' (2013) by

Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...

and David Shiner, directed by

, where he was nominated for the 2013 Henry Hewes Design Award. He has been nominated for the Henry Awards for Outstanding Scenic Award of Denver Theater Center's ''Measure for Measure'' directed by Kent Thompson in 2006, awarded the "Bay Area Critics Award" for Best Set Design of

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's ''The Time of Your Life'' (2004) directed by

, and has also received a 2001 Jefferson Award Nomination for Best Set Design of

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

's ''Ballad of Little Jo'' (2000) directed by Tina Landau He was the production designer for feature films '' Southie'' (1998) directed by John Shea and '' Fool's Fire'' (1992) directed by Julie Taymor, art director of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

children's short ''Didi Lightful'' (2012), and assistant art director for the film ''Big Blonde'' (1980) directed by Kirk Browning. He lived in both

, Washington and

Rowayton, Connecticut Rowayton is an affluent coastal village in the city of Norwalk, Connecticut, roughly from New York City. The community is governed by the Sixth Taxing District of Norwalk and has a number of active local associations, including the Civic Assoc ...

, with his family while continuing to create, collaborate, and educate others about his work as a theatrical designer. He was married to Robert Frazier, and had two children. Mercier died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

at his home in Rowayton on March 11, 2021, at age 66.

Selected works

*''Head of Passes'' – by Tyrell McCraney; directed by Tina Landau – Set Design, Lucille Lortel & Drama Desk Award Nominations *''Old Hats'' – by Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Nellie McKay; directed by Tina Landau – Set, costume, & puppet design, Henry Hewes Design Award Nomination *''Dead Man's Cell Phone'' – by Sarah Ruhl; directed by Anne Bogart – Set and costume design *''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' – adapted by Sharon Holland; directed by Peter Brosiu – Set and costume design *''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' – book by Joseph Stein; directed by Chris Coleman – Set design *''Finding Nemo'' – book & lyrics by Bobby & Kristen Lopez; directed by Peter Brocius – Set design *''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' – by William Shakespeare; directed by Kent Thompson – Henry Award Nomination *''The Time of Your Life'' – by William Saroyan; directed by Tina Landau – Set design *''The Ballad of Little Jo'' – book by Sara Slessinger, music by Mike Reid; directed by Tina Landau – Set design, Jefferson Award Nomination *''Dream True'' – book by Tina Landau, music by Ricky Ian Gordon; directed by Tina Landau – Set and costume design, Drama Desk Award Nomination *''Juan Darien; A Carnival Mass'' – by Julie Taymor & Eliott Goldenthal; directed by Julie Taymor – Set and costume design, Tony Award Nomination and Drama Desk Award Nomination *''Bed & Sofa'' directed by Andre Ernotte – Set and Costume Design, Drama Desk Award Nomination *'' The Tempest'' by William Shakespeare; directed by Julie Taymor – Set and Costume Design

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercier, Skip 1954 births 2021 deaths American costume designers American set designers Deaths from cancer in Connecticut Deaths from pancreatic cancer LGBT people from Massachusetts People from Haverhill, Massachusetts People from Methuen, Massachusetts People from Norwalk, Connecticut University of California, Berkeley alumni University of Washington alumni David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni