In 1990, Curtis Trout joined the faculty at Illinois Wesleyan as a professor of drama focused on scene design. He served in that role for 34 years before retiring in December 2024. Over Trout’s IWU career, he created more than 100 designs for the School of Theatre Arts, including this one. As Trout's career advanced, so did technology. What stayed the same, however, was the collaborative approach Trout championed with his students. To learn more about Trout's work and its connection to theater education and the IWU mission, visit this digital project, "Scanning the Stage: 3D Models and the Evolution of Scenic Design", created by 2026 IWU graduate Dagan Turcotte-Cutkomp, Digital Scholarship Librarian Abby Mann, and University Archivist Liz Bloodworth.