By John Ostapowicz / The Jambar
After opening weekend of “Be More Chill,” put on by the Youngstown State University University Theatre program, there’s one alumni who’s worked behind the scenes to construct set pieces for various productions alongside student crew members.
Gunnar Carwile, coordinator of Theatrical Production and Facilities support at the Dana School of Music and University Theatre, graduated with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Theatre and has since returned to continue his work with set production.
Carwile said his work was first featured in 2019 with University Theatre’s production of “Cabaret.” Since then, his set constructions and designs have been featured in countless university productions, such as “The Music Man,” “Puffs,” “Antigone” and “Speech and Debate.”
“Any set that we’ve seen on YSU’s stage since then, I’ve worked on,” Carwile said. “Anywhere between fall of 2019 to now is a set I’ve had my hands on.”
Before enrolling at YSU, Carwile said he was able to take his almost 10 years of home repair and landscaping experience, and apply it to his degree.
“When I came here to YSU, and I saw that this was something I could get my hands on, I took the opportunity very quickly because it’s like a second home,” Carwile said. “It feels easy, simple and easy for me to understand because it’s something that I’ve been doing for almost 20 years.”
For set building, Carwile said it’s not always easy, as scheduling and coordinating with other students and full-time faculty poses a challenge with the hands-on aspect of scene building.
“We are very experiential learning here, so we try to do as much as we can with all the students so they get a very well rounded education,” Carwile said. “Understanding what their schedules are and setting time aside to allow them to come in and learn various things — whether it’s reading a blueprint, understanding a 3D model, painting techniques [or] using the various tools we have here in the shop.”
With the current production of “Be More Chill,” the set is a major difference from the two-story set that was featured in “Arsenic & Old Lace,” which debuted Oct. 5 in Ford Theater.
“[For ‘Be More Chill’] it’s a little bit smaller of a set — very cafetorium kind of vibes,” Carwile said.
Besides creating set pieces and leading a crew at the university’s scene shop, Carwile received top honors from the International Model and Talent Association’s annual summer competition from July 7-11 in New York City.
Carwile competed in six different categories, which included cold reads, theatrical headshot, improved commercial performance, a screen test and monologue reads. Out of over 60 competitors in the 21-and-older age group, he received four medals and placed fifth overall in the Male Actor of the Year category.
While University Theatre performs its final shows of the fall semester, Carwile said for him every production is all about the students.
“Helping the students find a potential passion within it, and seeing the end result of watching these actors get to see the full set for the first time as well as during the entire process,” Carwile said.
The support of YSU and the greater Youngstown community is another aspect of working with University Theatre that Carwile said he enjoys.
“Seeing that joy and the expressions that some of the people have on their faces is very much one of my favorite parts about this job — seeing the satisfaction of my crew,” Carwile said. “Hearing the community come and see the shows and say, ‘Wow, they did a fantastic job on this’ [and] ‘It looks so cool’ — just to hear that kind of response and see students’ reactions to everything.”
The University Theatre season will continue in 2026 with the opening of “Episode 26” on Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-22 at Spotlight Theater in Bliss Hall.