Professional Directions: Production Design for Film & TV and Accessibility with Michael Fitzgerald

Join the Department of Performing and Media Arts for Professional Directions: Production Design for Film & TV and Accessibility with Michael Fitzgerald on Wednesday, April 9, from 2:30 PM to 4:10 PM, in Conference Room 220, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. The event will be moderated by Visiting Associate Professor Nick Embree, and is sponsored by Student Disability Services.

Michael Fitzgerald will join to discuss his production design on the Disney+ movie Out of My Mind based on the 2010 novel by New York Times bestselling novelist Sharon Draper. Out of My Mind is Michael’s third feature film collaboration with director Amber Sealey. The film is Disney’s first featuring a nonverbal lead actor with cerebral palsy. The challenge for Michael was two-fold: to create realistic spaces at the character’s home, school environments and other locations, and also to make every working set completely accessible, to accommodate the numerous diverse needs for the actors in the cast and crew.

Out of My Mind: Melody Brooks, a sixth grader with cerebral palsy, has a quick wit and a sharp mind, but because she is non-verbal and uses a wheelchair, she is not given the same opportunities as her classmates. When a young educator notices her student’s untapped potential and Melody starts to participate in mainstream education, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

Michael Fitzgerald has over 20 years as a production designer for film, television and documentary. A graduate of UCLA's School of Theatre, Film and Television, he designed the Disney+ original movie Out of My Mind. He has collaborated with directors like Katie Holmes and Amber Sealy, and is currently working on People of the West, a documentary series about California's native peoples.

The Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts is ADA accessible and includes wheelchair-accessible entrances, elevator access, and facilities. Please contact pma@cornell.edu with any questions about accessing the building or venue.

The Professional Directions series invites industry experts to speak about their career journeys as screenwriters, playwrights, actors, editors, producers, directors, theatre critics, dramaturgs, and more. These Q&A sessions are free and open to the public.

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