Design Goals with Frances Story (nee Hannaway)

Design Goals with Frances Story (nee Hannaway)

Mar 8, 2021

Meet Frances Story (nee Hannaway), Set Designer for Iceworks Design in Brisbane and ballet & contemporary dance enthusiast.

Learning ballet from a young age Frances has remained a lover of the stage.

At Claire Marshall’s Mill Street Studios she discovered a passion for contemporary dance. Teacher Claire Marshall soon discovered something else in Frances…a little spark.

That spark was a curiosity for what happened behind the scenes.

Mill St’s Test Pressing Youth Program introduced Frances to the many facets of stagecraft beyond treading the boards. Studying a Bachelor of Design/Interior Design at Brisbane’s QUT there was only one question. How to meld her two passions? Art & design plus dance.

What role could she take on that kept her involved in the performing arts world ?

“My goal has always been design…I love that so much. I just needed some practical runs on the board with understanding how sets are built and understanding how they’re used. I already had the understanding as a performer, on the performance side of things, but understanding how they’re used backstage and the function of how they’re used in a theatre right through to knowledge of how they’re built as well. It allows you to be a better designer. If you are armed with that intel you can use it to your advantage in your design rather than getting all the way through the design process and then finding out that its not actually practically possible due to budget, time or touring etc.”

Greatest lesson

Having conversations and talking about your dreams and aspirations, and seeking out practical experience is Frances’ greatest takeaway from her journey to set designer.

Frances has most recently designed the set and costumes for Friends The Musical Parody [now touring] and is onto the next round of multiple projects at Iceworks Design .

Listen now to hear Frances’ story and start a conversation!

READ Frances’ Article in Studio News Here