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January 8, 2020
Life After Witt

Kelli Harrod ’16

Theatre Alumna Takes on the World of Scenic Design

Kelli Harrod’s artwork is taking center stage - literally.

Harrod graduated from Ƶ in 2016 with a degree in studio art (painting), along with minors in technical theatre and art history. She then attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she obtained her master’s degree in scenic design.

Harrod now works as a freelance scenic designer and painter, using her talents in plays, musicals, and TV shows daily. In 2019 alone, she handled the scenic design for six shows, including Musical Theatre Heritage’s production of Funny Girl, The Coterie Theatre’s production of Secret Soldiers: Heroines in Disguise, and the Unicorn Theatre’s production of A Doll’s House, Part 2.

Harrod explains that her work allows her to use her passion for art to create a whole new world on the stage.

“I love watching when an actor first walks onto the stage once it is finished and hearing them say how the space really feels like something their character is a part of,” Harrod said. “I plan to keep designing and painting as much as I can and just see where the work takes me.” 

When she was touring colleges, Harrod knew that Ƶ was the perfect place to explore her interests, both inside and outside of her major.

“I originally picked Ƶ because it had all of the things I was looking for: a great art department, theatre department, a swim team, and a sailing team. When I left after my first visit, I knew that Ƶ [was] where I was going to go” said Harrod, who ended up joining Ƶ’s swim and sailing teams, as well as becoming a member of Kappa Delta sorority aside from her work in theatre.

It didn’t take long for Harrod to get her start in Ƶ’s theatre department, or for faculty to notice her talents. She credits a large part of her success to the late Jimmy Humphries, associate professor emeritus of theatre and dance, who retired in 2017 and passed away earlier this year.

“I walked into the scene shop in my first week as a freshman, and he immediately put me to work helping to design and build The Importance of Being Earnest. He saw potential in me and helped that grow into who I am now,” she said.

The liberal arts experience that Ƶ provided for Harrod was also essential in shaping her worldview.

“Having such a wide variety of classes available allowed me to explore and learn new things every day,” she said. “I particularly enjoyed the archaeology and film classes I was able to take while attending Ƶ. Being able to dive deep into things that I didn’t know about opened up my mind to new ways of looking at art and the world.”

Following her graduation from Ƶ, Harrod, who is originally from Kent, Ohio, has worked on the set of more than 20 productions with designers from Pennsylvania, Kansas City, and New York City. She currently lives in Kansas City.

 -By Faith Scully ’22, Office of University Communications

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University Communications Staff
Staff Report

About Ƶ

Ƶ's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Ƶ has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Ƶ offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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