Isi Ponce

STAGE DESIGN | ART DIRECTION

ABOUT ME

Address: Calle Silva, 21 (Madrid, Spain)

Date of birth: 22/12/1994

Phone: +34 686 31 82 45

I am Isidoro López-Puget Ponce, a graduate in Architecture from the Polytechnic University of Madrid born in the Canary Islands who has always had an enormous passion for the art world in general but particularly for theater and cinema.

When I had the opportunity to spend an academic year in Chicago, I took several subjects related to Film and Architecture as well as having collaborated as a photographer in a company that builds sets for theater and television. Once back in Spain, I did not hesitate to continue this path by also taking a Film and Architecture course in Madrid and as a final touch to my university stage, I dedicated my Final Degree Project to the use of space in the cinema, writing it about ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Stanley Kubrick.

During my training, it should be noted that I have been lucky enough to work in various architecture studios as well as in such enriching places as the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Chicago or the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid.

I believe that it was 2018 when the balance definitely tipped. Being the assistant to the set designer Nicolás Boní in the production ‘El Sueño de una Noche de Verano’ at the Teatro de la Zarzuela became the decisive turning point in knowing where to focus my training and effort.

This hunch could not find a better way to establish itself than with my time at the Projects Department of the Teatro Real in Madrid. For over a year I have collaborated in opera productions such as Don Carlo, Idomeneo Re Di Creta, Falstaff or Aquille en Sciro among others, where I received invaluable lessons from professionals from the Theater. To finish this stage they offered me the opportunity to take charge of the design and realization of the project of the Teatro Real float for the Reyes Magos parade in Madrid. I still can’t find the words to describe how exciting it is to be a key part of the organization of such a fascinating and multidisciplinary team.

Finally, I could not ignore the scenography course that I did in Girona by the architects RCR (winners of a Pritzker prize) and the set designers Bibiana Puigdefabregas and Albert Pascual. Starting from the text of Araby, a short story from James Joyce’s The Dubliners collection, we had to formalize all our dreams in a scenography that would allow the realization of a play faithful to the story we wanted to tell.

Parallel to all this, I have been able to work as an art director in different music video, short films or advertisements.

Also to continue my training I decided to do a Master in Art Direction in film and television series in Madrid to learn more about what I have found is my place in the world.

Currently focused on theatrical set design projects and art direction projects in the audiovisual world and on continuing to learn and grow personally and professionally along the way.

EDUCATION

EDUCATION:
2020-2021. Master in Art Direction in Films and TV Series with a theatrical Scenography module.
2016-2017. Scholarship for an exchange year at the ‘Illinois Institute of Technology School of Architecture’ (IIT).
2013-2019. Degree in Architecture. Superior Technical School of Architecture of Madrid (ETSAM).

COURSES AND WORKSHOPS

2021. ‘La Universidad en Escena’ course following the process of creation of the opera Peter Grimes by set designer Michael Levine

2019 (November). Robert McKee’s GENRE Seminar on films and Tv series.

2019 (July-August). IV International Workshop of Scenography-RCR Arquitectes and scenographers Bibiana Puigdefàbregas and Albert Pascual and the light designer Miguel Angel Camacho.

2018 (February-May). Seminar with M. García Roig investigating the relation between Cinema, Architecture. Final project on the analysis of Pedro Almodóvar film’s, obtaining a 8/10.

2018 (February-June). ‘Densifying Auroville’ workshop with Anupama Kundoo architects. Dedicated to the possibilities of urban development and densification of this utopia based on the Indian tradition, which has been a laboratory of architecture and new forms of community during the last 50 years. Exhibited in Unity Pavillion, Auroville.

2017 (September). Architecture workshop ‘FAMA-LAB’ as part of the ‘I Architecture fair of Madrid’ in the Polytechnic University of Madrid with architect Almudena Ribot.

2017 (January-April). Investigation seminar with the professor Peter Land about ‘Sustainable Architecture in Third World countries’. Obtaining a grade of A.

2017 (January-June). Study the future of composites in Architecture and the use of Carbon Fiber with professor Alphonso Peluso and my class at IIT and exposed on the McCormick Place in Chicago.

2017 (January-June). Digital Photography course with professor Lukasz Kowalczyk. Grade of A.

2017 (January-February). Harvard’s online course in Digital Photography.

2016 (August-December). ‘Conflict and Time’ seminar with professor Jonathan Miller exploring the relationship between Cinema and Architecture, obtaining a grade of A.

2016 (September-December). Advanced photography course in ‘Too Many Flash’ academy (Madrid).

2016 (March). Architecture workshop ‘MateraMending2015’ in Italy with my professor Alberto Campo Baeza, winning the first award for our proposal for the project. Published project at Campo Baeza’s unit book.

2015 (July). Architecture workshop ‘Fronteiras 2015’ in Belmonte, Portugal. It is framed as a solid catalyst for cross-border activities between Spain and Portugal and gives rise to a tool capable of revealing and investigating the links on both sides of the border.

2014 (April). Lectures seminar Architecture and town in the societies of the third millennium, by Luis Fernández Galiano in the Caixa Forum Madrid.

2013-2014. Drawing and painting course. El Enclave academy (Madrid)

COMPETITIONS, AWARDS, EXPOSITIONS

2023. Jury in the specialist section of the Drag Queen Gala of the Carnival of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in the celebration of its 25th anniversary under the theme STUDIO 54.

2021. Prize for the best Stand in the category of companies in FITUR to the Teatro Real’s Stand

2018-2019 (September-July). Scholarship granted by the Government of Spain to collaborate in the Composition Department of ETSAM with the architect and professor Atxu Amann Alcocer.

2018-2019 (September-January). Final degree thesis entitled ‘Use of architectural space in films: Skybreak House’. Analyzing the use of architecture in films focusing on this house used in Stanley Kubrick’s film ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

2018 (May). Obtained a 10/10 grade with honors in the course Studio 8 at ETSAM.

2018 (May-November). Exposed proposal at the Biennale di Venezia 2018. ‘FAMA-LAB’ as part of the ‘I Architecture fair of Madrid’. Link to video · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kBuUFvhaOM

2016-2017. Place on the College of Architecture Dean’s List for Excellent scholarly achievement during the Spring 2017 and Fall 2016 semester at Illinois Tech.

2017 (April). Participated in the Photography competition ‘Daylight Photo Awards’.

2017 (January-June). Studying the use of Carbon Fiber with professor A.Peluso. Exposed on the McCormick Place in Chicago.

2017 (January-May). Participated in the Architecture competition: ‘Sacred Architecture in Senegal’, Kaira Looro.

2016 (August-December). Selected project in Studio class with professor David Woodhouse at IIT, with a grade of A. Exposed project in the 2017 Open House at Crown Hall, Chicago.

2016 (April). Organized and participated with the Linguistic department of my university and the professor Carmen Menéndez in the ‘Cervantes Vive’ week at ETSAM.

2015 (December). Published project from the Studio unit of Professor Alberto Campo Baeza, obtaining a grade of 9/10.

OTHER SELECTED EXPERIENCE

2019-2020 Teatro Real de Madrid – Internship

Internship in the Projects Department within the Technical Direction of the Teatro Real de Madrid. Envolved in Opera productions such as Don Carlo (set designer: Robert Jones), Idomeneo Re di Creta (s. d.: Robert Carsen), La Calisto (s. d.: Paul Steinberg), Falstaff (s. d.: Barbara de Limburg), Capriccio (s. d.: Raimund Orfeo Voigt) or Achille in Sciro (s. d.: Julia Hansen), among others.

Leading as set designer the float of the Teatro Real for the ‘Cabalgata de Reyes’ in Madrid.

2018 (March-December) Norman Foster Foundation (Madrid) – Internship

Internship at the Education and Research Units. I had different and multidisciplinary tasks such as visits and research activities management, in house office logistics, NFF archive: inventory and catalogation, exhibition proposals and management, NFF workshops and seminars preparation. I was in charge of both the Public and the Private visits to the Foundation. I was involved in various NFF Workshops like ‘On Cities’, ‘Digital X’, ‘Robotics’ or ‘Urban Mobility’ during my time at the Foundation.

2017 (January-June) Frank Lloyd Wright Trust (Chicago) – Education manager

Working with the ‘Frank Lloyd Wright Trust’ in Chicago as the Education Manager planning, developing and preparing a designed-based educational program workshop called ‘Wright 150 in the Parks’ as part of the celebration of the 150 anniversary of Wright’s birth. I design a pilot design program for families in collaboration with the Chicago Park District and the Illinois Institute of Technology. I was also chosen to be the instructor for the workshop we organized at Chicago’s Midway Pleasance and Washington Park. I was responsible for planning the workshops and teaching and engaging a projected 30 participants each day.

2017 (February-June) Scenic Studios (Chicago) – Photographer

Photographic investigation of the ‘Scenic Studios’ facility , where they build sets for TV, movies and theatrical productions in Chicago.

2017 (June-July) Alonso-Sosa Architects (Las Palmas) – Internship

Participated in various projects, specially participated in the architecture competition for the restoration of the Hotel Santa Catalina in Las Palmas working with renders, plans, sections and modeling. Also worked designing the architecture exposition of the firm ‘En Proceso’ in the Sara Leon gallery in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, design the exposition booklet.

2017 (April-June) Lorin Architecture (Chicago) – Project manager

Working on various projects from residential to commercial. My role was to measure existing buildings, meeting with clients and designing project and providing layouts and sections.

2016-2017 Forma Architecture (Chicago) – Project manager

Working as a project manager engaging in all area of architecture, master planning, space planning and interior design developing residential & commercial projects, in particular working with the Chicago Public Schools institution involved in various projects from designing new buildings to restoring and conserving old buildings and having to meet with clients and present them design proposals.