Set Designer at Work
Katie Hansen ’27 studies set design and architecture at Bennington. During her first year, she was hired to design a backdrop for the “Lessons with Lincoln” panel of the 2024 Gettysburg Film Festival, which occurred on April 5 in Gettysburg, PA.
The festival welcomed acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns as a special guest, and actors Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston also participated in the panel.
Hibner’s involvement in this project allowed her to work not only with the Adams County Historical Society (ACHS), but also to collaborate with two-time Tony Award winning set designer Beowulf Boritt, who produced a preliminary concept that Hibner worked with the ACHS to refine and finalize.
“I also worked with several local sources of reclaimed barnwood, students at the Adams County Technical Institute who helped with construction, and my uncle, Andrew Hansen, who completed the painting on the front of the backdrop,” said Hibner. “Much of my design work was completed over Field Work Term, but I worked remotely to complete my design, produce technical drawings, and communicate between the festival producers and the construction/painting team to make sure that the production and installation of the backdrop was happening both on schedule and up to standard.”
Hansen’s design was featured prominently on the homepage of the festival’s website and was also included in several publications’ coverage of the festival, including The Washington Post.
Image: Actors Martin Sheen (far left) and Sam Waterston (second from left) join documentary filmmaker Ken Burns (second from right) and moderator Jake Boritt (right) on stage for "Lessons from Lincoln" at the 2024 Gettysburg Film Festival on April 5, 2024
Photo courtesy of Gettysburg Images/Adams County Historical Society.