EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the August issue of GCU Magazine, available in the purple bins around campus or digitally.
When some people paint walls, they’re just painting walls.
When Keeli Rodriguez does it, she’s creating magic.
The Grand Canyon University theatre and drama graduate added a much-needed splash of color to Harry Potter’s Ministry of Magic and helped bring the classic monster-filled Dark Universe to life at the recently opened Universal Epic Universe, the first major theme park to open in Orlando, Florida, in 25 years.
She spent 3 ½ years as part of the Themed Finishes team for Universal Creative, an unexpected turn for Rodriguez, who refined her scenic design skills on the Ethington Theatre stage.
Rodriguez loved to sketch when she was growing up, but as she got older, her interests switched to theatre.
Then a theatre design class at GCU changed everything.
It reignited her passion for the visual arts and kickstarted her love for scenic design – skills that would lead her to Epic Universe.
“When I was a sophomore, we had an assignment to create a floor plan and make a drawing of our dorm rooms,” Rodriguez said. “I wanted to be playful about it, so instead of making a regular floor plan, I thought to make my room look like it was from the 1940s – all pastel-themed – and even put a pool table in the middle of it.”
She didn’t think any more about it, but Assistant Dean of Theatre and Dance William Symington did. He thought her design was innovative and striking.
“It caught Bill’s attention, so one day as we were cleaning up in Ethington Theatre, he came up to me and asked if I would like to assist with scenic design on the next main stage production,” Rodriguez said. “I just thought to myself… me? Are you sure?”
It was a pivotal point for Rodriguez.
In her junior year, she became the scenic designer for “Tartuffe,” GCU’s entry into the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. It was a finalist for best scenic design.
That and a nomination from the ariZoni Awards for outstanding achievement in Arizona theatre confirmed Rodriguez was on the right path.
“I didn’t really expect people to see a lot of potential in me, yet I really did find my purpose at GCU, because the faculty and friends I made there believed in me. That’s worth a lot.”
Things came full circle when GCU produced “Peter and the Starcatcher” her senior year, when she was reminded of the value of theatre and her place in it.
After watching Cathy Rigby’s “Peter Pan” at 11 years old, Rodriguez fell in love with the stage. When she saw Peter fly through the window with stardust on his fingers, “it was the coolest, most magical thing ever,” she said.
It inspired her to re-create that same magic for “Peter and the Starcatcher.”
“I don’t think there is anything quite like theatre in terms of being able to tell a story that is so intimate – that really hits you. So that opportunity meant a lot to me.”
Director Michael Kary, Rodriguez and a student design team spent months collaborating on scenery and presenting concepts, strategically workshopping every scene.
“Peter and the Starcatcher” would earn 10 ariZoni nominations and four wins.
“The two of us spent hours in my office working through how to bring this abstract show to life,” Kary said. “We landed on setting the show in an orphanage. This made a lot of sense to tackle the origin story of Peter Pan in a place where kids are forced to grow up way too fast.
“Keeli was a master sketch artist, and we drew all over my whiteboard during the month leading up to production. When we finally opened, the ink on the board had become permanent, and I kept it up ever since as a testament to the collaboration process and a cherished memory of putting up one of my favorite shows ever.”
Working on that play “gave me a ton of confidence to go out and pursue design on a higher scale,” Rodriguez said. “I found my dream during (my time at) GCU, and it was just to create scenic elements that impacted people.”
She took that dream, then thought bigger.
Rodriguez delved into the master’s program in Themed Experience at the University of Central Florida and took on an attractions assistant role while in the Disney College Program in Florida.
But when COVID-19 hit, her attractions assistant role ended.
She made the best of it by diving deeper into her graduate studies, then returned to the theme park industry in 2021. She became an attractions assistant again, but this time at Universal Studios Florida.
Months later, when Universal was hiring interns for a new theme park, Rodriguez was selected for Universal Creative’s Themed Finishes team.
Over the next three years, she crafted more than 300 color boards for Epic Universe. She mastered paint systems and created color schemes, assisting with artwork and painting samples for the Ministry of Magic and Dark Universe, two of the five lands in the park.
Rodriguez would go on to become paint documentation coordinator, working with vendors to collect and organize paint documentation coordinator, working with vendors to collect and organize paint documentation and help in scenic touch-up and tie-in before the park’s grand opening.
“Every single façade you see, anything that can be touched in that land and the rides, I had a hand in it,” said Rodriguez, who’s now a scenic artist for Epic Universe. “It is so surreal because I was there when it was nothing but a dirt mound, and then I saw the park being built and rise up. That is the craziest part of all – that I literally saw the vision come to life.
“It really is just a bigger scale of theatre. When I was at GCU, it was all about coming together, putting our brains and opinions together. This is the same way here, just on a massive scale.”
Rodriguez has come a long way from a fun take on a homework assignment to helping set the scene for a theme park.
"We can point to her for years to come," Kary said, "and show our students the results of when hard work, talent and a plan come together. It literally makes someone's dream come true."
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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