Man with a plan

Staff writer Paul Gerard finds Frank Schneeberger, the Madison Repertory Theatre set designer, "up to his elbows in sawdust. 'Everything's coming down on you at once right now,'" Schneeberger says, gesturing at the set for the Rep's production of Strange Snow. Gerard notes that Schneeberger's anxiety doesn't hide "the excitement he obviously feels about creating the Rep's sets, which have been a strong element in the theater's productions for several years. Schneeberger is both a designer and a builder, a fact that shows up in the detail and strong architectural sense of his designs." The Kenosha native, who has a master's degree in technical theater from St. Louis University, worked as a carpenter for five years and landed the role of Brick in the Rep's 1978 production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof before taking the job of technical director. "I love it," he says. "After living with the set on paper for so many months, I get to watch it grow and actually put it together." Schneeberger would build more than 140 sets for the Rep before departing in 2002. He is now the theater technician for the Overture Center.