The Department
The Wallace Studios at Speirs Locks are excellent, fully equipped design and workshop spaces where both production work and student practical training occur. The paintshop at Wallace Studios is fully equipped with all the tools, equipment and materials necessary in training students to becoming scenic artist. We have a 12m x 8m paintframe with a movable motorised bridge in which we paint cloths, gauzes and cut cloths for our various productions. We have three main stage productions that the scenic art students will be involved in, a Christmas Show, a Book Musical and a full Opera alongside our in-house acting productions, studio contemporary musical and the two drama productions that are based at the Citizens theatre. It is a fast paced, messy creative department, and its a lot of fun!
The Staff
Gary Fry – Lecturer
Gary trained as a fine artist at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, where he gained a BFA(Hons) in 1989. From here he moved to Fife and started working at the Buckhaven Theatre where stage management was his initial introduction to theatre.
The 1991 King’s Theatre Pantomime, in Edinburgh, with Stanley Baxter, was the start of his career as a scenic artist. From here Gary moved to London where he worked at the National Theatre, in and around the West End and painted for Opera North and Glyndebourne Opera. During this period he travelled to Dubai to paint a party for a Sheik. In 1993 he travelled back to Scotland to take up a scenic artist post at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh and while there additionally painted for the Traverse and Playhouse Theatres. Looking for a new challenge, Gary travelled to Hong Kong in 1996 where he lived and worked for twelve years. He Initially worked freelance in Hong Kong and China before becoming the full time Scenic Artist/Lecturer in Applied Arts at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He remained there for seven years before moving to Walt Disney Imagineering where he became a Field Art Director for the new Hong Kong Disneyland. He field art directed Sleeping Beauty’s Castle and the Jungle River Cruise, amongst other attractions,
In 2008 he left Disney and worked as an art director on the twelve room boutique hotel, Hullet House, in the former Marine police Headquarters, Hong Kong.
Scott McIntosh – Tutor
Scott trained as a scenic artist at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where he received a BA in Technical Production Arts. Upon graduating he moved to London to work for the Royal Opera House and then on to Souviner Scenic Studios where he worked on Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Wizard of OZ and various productions for the Royal Court Theatre and Alexander McQueen’s Paris and London fashion week runways.
He then returned across the border to work as a scenic artist with the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh on productions such as the Infamous Brothers Davenport, 27, Of Mice and Men and many others. He has worked with companies such as The Royal Shakespeare Company on Loves Labours Lost, National Theatre of Scotland on the James Plays and Rankin, Scottish Opera on The Marriage of Figaro and the Devil Inside, Complicite on The Encounter, The Citizens Theatre on Taking Over the Asylum and 27. He has also worked on Outlander and various BBC and CBBC tv programmes.
During this time he started to run scenic art workshops as part of Scenehouse and has been the Scenic Art Tutor at the RCS since 2014. He is currently completing a Post-graduate certificate in Higher Arts Education.
The RCS
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is a national and international centre of excellence for performing arts education.
Building on our roots in 1847 as a national academy of music, we are now one of the world’s most multi-disciplinary conservatoires, offering specialised and intensive teaching in dance, drama, music, production and screen.
Currently, more than 1000 students are pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at RCS across all of our specialisms. We also teach over 2000 part-time learners each year through our Junior Conservatoire and Lifelong Learning department, opening up access to the arts to children, young people and adult learners.
Located in the heart of Glasgow city centre, RCS is also the nation’s busiest performing arts centre with more than 500 public performances taking place across our five professional venues each year. We welcome over 40,000 members of the public every academic year, to watch our talented and passionate students perform on stage.
Contact
If you wish to contact either Gary or Scott please email or call them:
g.fry@rcs.ac.uk
s.mcintosh@rcs.ac.uk
0141 270 8107