Susanna Caccioppo graduated with honours in Set Design from the Rome University of Fine Arts, with a thesis on the set design of the Oscars ceremony.
During her studies she collaborated on short films such as “Down hearted jazz” and projects such as the theatrical production “Rumors” at the Teatro Ambra Jovinelli. She took part as an intern in the TV series “Alfredino: Una storia italiana”, produced by Lotus Production for Sky. She worked for Friends&Partners production as a buyer for the television programme “Penso che un sogno così” by Giuseppe Fiorello on Rai1 and as an assistant set designer for Alessandro Siani’s Christmas show “Stasera felicità” on Sky Uno.
After completing her studies, she worked as an assistant on various events, including “Christmas World: il Natale nel Mondo” at the Auditorium Parco della Musica and “Ferrari Finali Mondiali 2021” for Live.com production. Having consolidated the professional relationship established with set designers Alessandro Leoni and Francesco Filosa, she currently collaborates regularly at their studio.
La notte degli Oscar – Omaggio al teatro e alla sua potenza espressiva
The proposed research is divided into three sections with the aim of retracing the stages that have made the Oscars ceremony one of the most watched events in the world. It is completed by the ex novo design of the set for a hypothetical edition of the Academy Awards, with a view to a complete restart of theatre and the entire entertainment industry, to which I have dedicated this work.
Approaching a theatrical design project during the long and forced period of theatre closures caused by the pandemic provided an opportunity to reflect on the role of the spectator and the importance of their physical and emotional proximity. Theatre was revealed to us in the depth of its skeleton, constrained by emptiness, bare in its most mechanical essence. The presence of the spectator appears essential to those on stage: a reciprocal and continuous exchange of pure vibrations.
In this sense, the proposed set design aims to highlight and enhance the importance of this interaction by generating a vortex intended to draw the spectator in, within a show in which the audience itself becomes the protagonist.
Within this enveloping combination of light and matter converge the emotions of thousands of people, but only some will be able to step onto that stage and be definitively engulfed by the joy of excelling.
The cross-disciplinary approach to designing a television event that celebrates the greatness of cinema within one of the largest theatres in the United States has enriched the educational journey through the multitude of considerations and details arising from the fusion of three different artistic worlds. The proposed project aims to create a fascinating and highly evocative set design, characteristics that have always been fundamental to the Academy, with the intention of once again placing the spectator first, captivated by entering that vortex of excellence and genius that represents Oscar night.
