After twenty-one years as the Scenic Designer and Technical Director for University Theatre at UW-Superior, Sue Wedan, has announced that she will be retiring at the end of this Spring 2024 semester. Wedan has a long history at UWS, which started in 1989 as a student and continued until 1995 when she received both her Bachelor’s and her Master’s degree in Theatre.
During her time at UWS, Wedan said she never, “had a favorite show, because they all mean something different.” As a grad student, she designed “Leader of the Pack” for her Master’s degree in 1995 which she enjoyed thoroughly. For Wedan, safety was a big priority on her sets. “Everything we do, especially if you’re having scenery fly in and fly out and you’re having things fly out of the traps from underneath the floor, it’s making sure all of that works safely,” said Wedan.
Her most tricky set design was “the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk coming out of the floor and then growing thirteen feet in the air,” Wedan said. The most memorable show for Wedan is “Arsenic and Old Lace” because she had wanted to do it for a long time. Another set that Wedan liked was “Panic.” “The set turned out, rather lovely if I do say so myself,” said Wedan.
Wedan stated, “When we’re working in the scene shop, and they’ve built something that they never thought they would build, things like that.” Wedan hopes that her legacy is being a hard worker, and a good collaborator and that it takes hard work to do the things she does. “I’m fair to my students…because some of them can do a lot of things, and some of them might not be as good, but that doesn’t matter. You need to be fair to your students,” said Wedan.
Students have been her favorite part of her career. “Just to see them accomplish something they never thought they would be doing,” said Wedan. She loves to see students succeed and loves to see students build things and have them use their imagination. Wedan is an inspiration for many, and her legacy here at UW-Superior will not be forgotten.
In retirement, Wedan gave her definition of the word “retirement”, and she said that it is, “Time, by having time, you know, to spend with my grandkids. Time to do the things I want to do and less stress!” Wedan is heading into this next ‘stage’ of life, and as one door closes, yet another opens. UW-Superior will carry on the legacy that Sue Wedan has left.
