The Leslie eLab has attracted a variety of students across many disciplines at the University. Nicole Ansbacher, a third year student at Tisch getting her BFA in Drama with a focus on Production and Design Studio, was inspired to apply the resources in the fabrication lab to her Fall semester independent study. Throughout her study, Nicole will “analyze the various options now accessible to designers, due to the affordability of existing products, their accessibility to designers, and the ongoing advances in technology. [She] believes it is essential for the modern designer to appreciate how they may enhance the designer’s ability to communicate a concept into production.” Nicole plans to apply her research to create a “common communication package set designers can use to express their work to the rest of the team.” To demonstrate her idea, she has utilized some of the tools in the ‘fab lab’, such as a 3D printer, to create a scale model of the set to help plan the production of Violet, the musical.
“In the Fab Lab, the primary component I've been working on is the scale model. This takes patience, accuracy, and tweezers to complete. It’s a great use of the tools in the fab lab.”
My goal is to create a three-dimensional medium for the director of the production to better communicate the production to the . I'm creating a tool for the director through the use of other tools. Only with time, experience, and experimentation will I learn better ways to create my tools of communication.”
“This kind of stuff takes time and the only way for it to become a tool that really helps the speed, quality, and creativity of your projects is to give it time as a hinderance to your projects. Only with the particular experience for which you hope it to become seamlessly integrated with one day, will you ever learn enough about these technologies for them to be worth your time.” In Nicole’s eyes, “Our society is experiencing the integration of thought, software, and equipment and the theatre is a beneficiary of this innovation.” The eLab is a great place to start understanding how every discipline is changing through the integration of technology.
Nicole has documented her learning experiences along the way in a blog here that also highlights how to make prototyped materials look authentic through artistic applications.
