UMKC’s program in scene design – "the art school of the theatre" – treats dramatic ideas and techniques of drawing and painting with equal emphasis. The aim is to enable each student to increase their capabilities and resources for design and to develop responsibility for the images produced. The program shows cognizance of the high level of skill and individual virtuosity demanded for employment and survival in major theatre centers. The supposition is that students who pass through the program are able to function competitively in the professional theatre.

The design program is focused on individualized instruction. Unlike other programs, this one emphasizes the interaction between individual students and professional stage directors. The young designer is offered the opportunity to work in a wide range of styles and approaches under the guidance of practicing, professional artists. Housed in the Missouri Repertory Theatre’s shops and studios, the learning environment strives to be adequate to the experiences a student will have as they grow to maturity as artists and designers.

The program has these major components:
Scenography – organized around a substantial body of theory relating to American theatrical forms and directed to the development of expressive rendering techniques through systematic practice of drawing and painting;

History, Dramatic Literature, and Text Analysis – specifically directed toward research into the distinctive character of American playwriting and design, their European and Asian antecedents, and professional ethics;
Professional practice – students design productions under the supervision of an impressive roster of professional stage directors and artists. The Missouri Repertory Theatre and the University theatre provide well-equipped laboratories and stage spaces in which students test, practice, and perfect processes learned in the classroom. Design assignments are systematically graduated in scale and complexity, consistent with the student’s increased command of the theatrical medium.

Charrettes – periodically conducted over a concentrated period bringing renowned masters of unique vision such as Fiona Shaw, Santo Loquasto, Barry Kyle, and Ralph Koltai into the classroom. Charrettes enhance the aura of the program with infusions of glamour, excitement, and creative challenge.

Charrettes
Recent artists who have come to campus for intensive workshops we call "Charrettes," include: Ralph Koltai ("dean" of European scene designers); Mary Zimmerman (Tony Award-winning director); Santo Loquasto (Academy Award nominee in costume and art direction); Fiona Shaw (internationally acclaimed film and stage star); Ian McNeil (Tony-nominated and Olivier Award-winning designer); Eldon Elder (Broadway designer); and Barry Kyle (Award-winning Associate Director of The Royal Shakespeare Company).

The Charrette program brings distinguished artists to campus for intense, concentrated periods of time. The program’s goal is to introduce students to acknowledged masters of unique vision, enabling students to learn from and network with representatives of the national and international theatre community.

John Ezell, Hall Family Foundation Professor of Design, has designed for Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Tony Award winning Crossroads Theatre, Roundabout, Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Swedish Riksteatern, and the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm, Sweden. He has designed for dozens of regional theatres including the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Repertory Theatre of St Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Indiana Rep, Olde Globe,San Diego, Williamstown and Bershire Theatre Festivals, Asolo Theatre, and Chicago’s Second City. He is a consultant to Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and a participant in the exchange of theatre artists with the Peoples’ Republic of China. His drawings have been exhibited in New York, San Diego, Prague, Brussels, and Beijing. His work received the Award for Experimental Television Art in Milan, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for Excellence, and nine Critics’ Circle Awards. Gene Emerson Friedman, an award - winning scenic designer, is known especially for his work on Shakespeare and the American musical. Professor Friedman has been awarded the prestigious Peggy Ezekiel Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre Arts by the United States Institute for theatre Technology for his design drafting, the only time this award has ever been granted in this field. He was recently cited as "a significant artistic contributor" in the American theatre community.

He teaches the history of design and technology of world theatre, drafting for the theatre and rendering techniques for the designer, as well as contributing his insights in the scenic design master classes.

Professor Friedman has worked with George Abbott, Gerald Freedman, Adrienne Kennedy and Vincent Dowling among other theatrical luminaries. His work has been seen at the Lincoln Center Institute, the Kennedy Center, Historic Ford's theatre, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland, the Repertory theatre of St. Louis, Stages Saint Louis and of course, the Missouri Repertory theatre. He is the Resident Scenic Designer at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival.John Ezell, Hall Family Foundation Professor of Design, has designed for Broadway, the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Tony Award winning Crossroads Theatre, Roundabout, Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen, Swedish Riksteatern, and the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm, Sweden. He has designed for dozens of regional theatres including the Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Repertory Theatre of St Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Indiana Rep, Olde Globe,San Diego, Williamstown and Bershire Theatre Festivals, Asolo Theatre, and Chicago’s Second City. He is a consultant to Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and a participant in the exchange of theatre artists with the Peoples’ Republic of China. His drawings have been exhibited in New York, San Diego, Prague, Brussels, and Beijing. His work received the Award for Experimental Television Art in Milan, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Award for Excellence, and nine Critics’ Circle Awards.