During summer 2023, the experimenta.l. lab was part of the soft launch of a new initiative on campus: The Short-term Working Group (SWG), developed by Dr. Salena Brody in collaboration with the Center for Teaching and Learning. According to Dr. Brody, “the Short-term Working Group (SWG) initiative is designed to help close the gap between the number of students wanting to develop professional relationships with faculty and the number of opportunities currently available.” As criteria, the SWG presented project ideas that could be completed over four sessions with small cohorts of students.
During Dr. Christine Veras’ SWG, a group of seven student volunteers committed to making from scratch a 12-foot-high dinosaur. But not any dinosaur, specifically Gertie the dinosaur, the cartoon dinosaur created by Winsor McCay in 1914. Gertie is part of the promotion material for the play “Winsor & Gertie” to be performed at the university theater on September 8 and 9, 2023.
Meeting once a week for four weeks, two hours per meeting, the group had clear and specific goals for each meeting. The students involved in the project included undergraduates from Arts, Animation, Psychology, Pre-Med, and one Graduate student in Animation & Games.
Here are a few photos of the experience. They planned, sanded, painted, touch-up, and the students learned how to use a jigsaw to cut the wood while helping and collaborating with one another.
Video timelapse of the construction of Gertie the Dinosaur:
Installation on the UTD Theatre façade
Gertie is now on the UTD Theatre façade. Have you seen her? If so, send us pictures. Here are a few photos of her installation. Our cartoon dinosaur friend seems to be attracting lots of attention:
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr. Salena Brody, whose SWG initiative made this project a reality.
This project was developed at ROW thanks to the kind support of SV Randall.
Extra special thanks to Philip Martin, who helped to train the students on how to use the equipment, providing creative and safe guidelines for the project.
About the Play
Winsor & Gertie will premiere in Texas at the UTD Theatre on September 8 and 9, at 7 pm. More information and tickets here: https://calendar.utdallas.edu/event/winsor_gertie_play