Southeastern grads, faculty work on CBS Superbowl sets
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: January 30, 2013
ON THE SET – Shown on one of the sets he designed and built for Southeastern Louisiana University is Steve Schepker, professor of theatre design and technical directing. Scepker worked with former students Michael Kramer and Amanda Klipsch building the various sets used by CBS in its coverage of the Super Bowl.
HAMMOND – When millions of television viewers tune in for the NFL Super Bowl in New Orleans
this weekend, they will witness the artistic design and technical accomplishments
of Southeastern Louisiana University graduates and faculty.
For several weeks, Theatre Professor Steve Schepker worked with his former student,
Michael Kramer, the senior designer with New Orleans-based Solomon Group, to put together
the nine stages that CBS is using this week in its coverage of Super Bowl XLVII in
the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The network is broadcasting a multitude of shows this entire week from various
sites in New Orleans, including the Morial Convention Center, Champions Square at
the Superdome, and the French Quarter.
"Michael sent me a text asking if I wanted to work on the Super Bowl scenery
over the Christmas break," said Schepker, a winner of the Southeastern President's
Excellence Award for Artistic Activity. "I said 'yes' immediately. How can you turn
down working on the biggest stage in the world, especially when it is in New Orleans?"
Schepker, who designs and builds most of the sets used in the university's theatrical
productions, first met Kramer when he was a Southeastern student majoring in industrial
technology.
"Michael just walked into my shop and said he wanted to build scenery," he recalled.
"I hired him on the spot and he was a natural. He already had many of the skills necessary
as a designer and technician."
A native of New Orleans, Kramer graduated in 1997 and knew he wanted to pursue
set design as a career. For graduate studies, Schepker steered him to his alma mater,
Western Illinois University, where Kramer refined the skills he needed to work in
the New York theatre industry. He graduated from WIU in 2001 with an MFA degree in
scenic design.
"I worked for him (Schepker) in college, and I fell in love with the theatre,"
Kramer said. "I found my niche working for him. He sent many students to WIU for graduate
degrees."
"I think Michael really developed as an artist after he moved to New York City,"
Schepker said.
Kramer has done set designs for ESPN's "SportsNation," as well as for Comedy
Central, ABC, Nickelodeon, and numerous New York theatre productions.
Another Southeastern graduate, Amanda Klipsch, also worked on the sets as an
employee with the Solomon Group. A 2011 theatre graduate, she also learned techniques
as a student worker in Schepker's shop and eventually served as scenic director on
several productions for which she received awards for graphic and scenic design.
"I loved working in the Southeastern theatre program," she said. "It provided
me with more opportunities to design and work shows as an undergraduate than I would
have gotten at any other school."
"Amanda helped to build sets since she started as a freshman," Schepker said.
"She demonstrated a great work ethic and became someone we could always count on."
Working on the CBS set was a reunion of sorts for Schepker.
"I never thought I would be working under the direction of a former student or
with Amanda on a commercial venture like the Super Bowl sets," he said. "It was a
great experience."