Robert Mark Morgan

Robert Mark Morgan

Teaching Professor of Drama
MFA, San Diego State University
research interests:
  • Scenic Design
  • Creativity
  • Design-Thinking
  • Human-Centered Design
  • Interdisciplinary Education

contact info:

office hours:

  • ​By Appointment

mailing address:

  • WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
    MSC-1108-193-312
    ONE BROOKINGS DRIVE
    ST. LOUIS, MO 63130-4899

Robert Mark Morgan is a nationally recognized designer, and author. He is in his 14th year of teaching at Washington University.  

He has designed professionally in the areas of theatre, film, museum, and theme park venues.  Avatar the Exhibition (museum exhibit) originally designed for Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle toured in the U.S. and Canada for 3 years. His designs have been seen onstage nationally at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota, FL), Indiana Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, The Old Globe, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Studio Arena (Buffalo, NY), Childrens Theatre Company (Minneapolis, MN), Cleveland Play House, the MUNY - St. Louis, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre (Atlanta), Barrington Stage, Marin Theatre Company, Magic Theatre, and American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in San Francisco.

in the news:

A set designer’s guide to creativity, for everyone

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The Art of Scenic Design: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process

The Art of Scenic Design: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process

Robert Mark Morgan

How do you navigate a career as an entertainment designer while maintaining a sense of self-worth and value in the various off-ramps and sidestreets you may choose to take on the journey? “The Art of Scenic Design: A Practical Guide to the Creative Process” provides an in-depth look at the scenic design process for young designers as well as creative entrepreneurs seeking to nurture a collaborative environment that leads to rediscovery and innovation in their work. 

Based on his 30 years of experience in stage design, exhibit design, art direction for film, and theme park and industrial design, Robert Mark Morgan demonstrates that while a design process for creating these types of works can seem like niche professions, the lessons learned in collaboration, testing and re-testing ideas, prototyping concepts, overcoming fears, venturing guesses, divergent thinking, and the creative process in general are applicable – and valuable – in nearly all disciplines and professions both inside and outside of the entertainment industry.

In “The Art of Scenic Design” you will follow an accomplished designer on a narrative of the theatrical design process from early phases of a design with a creative team encompassing visual research, idea-making, and collaborative relationships, to sketching, prototyping, and testing ideas, through to the execution and manifestation of the design with a team of artists and collaborators. The design journey is contextualized with backstage stories of “what if?” moments, provocative discussions, and lessons that are indispensable to your professional development.