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Meet Dorothy Zhu

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorothy Zhu.

Dorothy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in China but spent most of my childhood in the south side of Chicago. Less than a year after I began learning English, my school submitted a story I’d written to Young Chicago Authors, and my story won first place. That was probably the first moment I realized that stories could become more than my childhood’s means for escapism and that I could be good at creating them. Another crucial moment I remember was the first time I saw Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth”. The film was the most gorgeous thing I’d seen and the subtitles moved along too fast for my novel English skills, so 10 minutes into the film I gave up on reading and watched the film with no understanding of the dialogue. I remember leaving the theater in awe because I had a perfect understanding of the narrative, the characters, the world Del Toro had created, and the meaning behind it all. I think it was the first time I understood what the term “visual storytelling” means and how powerful it can be.

Applying for graduate school is an odd thing to do when one is uncertain about what to focus on, but due to my immigrant status, my only other option was to leave the country. I was a big fan of early Pixar but wasn’t sure that I wanted to be an animator per se, but CalArts was on my radar, and the only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to be involved in visual storytelling. For some reason, I decided to apply for their scenic design program (which was under the theatre department and headed by Chris Barecca), despite having no experience in theatre except for my appreciation of the sketches of Ming Cho Lee and Joseph Urban. To this day, I don’t know why Chris decided to take a chance on me (the acceptance rate for that particular program was extraordinarily low), but I got an interview, and he surprised me again when he recommended that I double major as a scenic and costume designer. I graduated two years ago with exactly the kind of education I needed, despite having no idea of what I was getting myself into. Since then, my work has mostly been in production and scenic design for film and themed entertainment.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I wouldn’t call any of the situations I get myself into “smooth”, but I’d say for the most part it’s worked out. Learning two disciplines at the master’s level with no prior experience in either was difficult enough, but halfway through my program, I decided to make it even more interesting by adding on animation and screenwriting classes. It was a struggle to manage my time, but this cross-pollination of disciplines fed into one another and give me a superior understanding of everything I was doing.

The biggest struggles actually came from things that were outside my control. When you’re on an immigrant status, sometimes you’re unable to accept certain opportunities offered to you, especially ones that involve international travel. I’ve had to walk away from a lot of these and it’s a struggle to not be bitter about it, especially being in an industry where a single opportunity has the potential to make your career.

Please tell us more about your art.
My work spans too many categories that it’s difficult to describe in a few words. As a production and scenic designer, I’ve been told that I have great directorial instincts so that I immediately grasp what directors want, as well as a great understanding of characters. I’ve also been called a “MacGyver” by some of the directors I’ve worked for, due to my ability to figure out unconventional and transformative builds with very little resources. I graduated with a massive and versatile portfolio, and at my portfolio showcase, I was recruited by Knott’s Berry Farm to be one of their full-time scenic designers. Themed entertainment pays well and looks for designers who are versatile because in that industry, you do the work of five different design departments.

I had fantastic co-workers and bosses at Knott’s, and I got to work on everything from Scary Farm mazes to children’s shows (for one show, I even got to send Snoopy to the moon for the 50th anniversary of Nasa’s Apollo space missions, which named one of its capsules after Snoopy). I eventually had to leave that job due to a work visa issue, and since then I’ve continued work in that field through freelance, including working on the debut of Dark Horizon in 2019. I’m also doing production design for short films, commission work for specialty props/builds, freelance concept art, character designs, painting and sculpture, as well as an animated short film that I’ve been rewriting since school. I don’t think I’ll ever lose the itch to create a story that I consider worth telling.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I mostly look forward to achieving a level of personal success, which means being content with myself and with the things I put out into the world. There are those who I would consider models of success, like Guillermo Del Toro, Joss Whedon, Hayao Miyazaki, Peter Jackson, Ryan Coogler, Alfonso Cuaron… the list goes on. These are people whose work I’d kept a close eye on throughout the years; they always had something different to offer: a particular viewpoint or style that was once undervalued but eventually recognized- so much so that they’ve changed the way the industry does things and what audiences want.

So far, I’ve experienced some financial success and recognition from people I respect. One moment when I felt successful was upon graduating from CalArts when a peer from the previous year (whose work I favorited) pulled me aside and called me the “dark horse” of my year. I imagine most the people I’d mentioned above were also called dark horses at some point in their careers. I’ve had some moments to be happy about, but the thing about happiness is that it’s fleeting. Contentment is something else. I have yet to put out a project that I consider to be a true reflection of who I am, what I think, or even what I’m capable of. I have a lot of untold stories to tell, skills to mold, and some personal peace to attain before I can be content enough to consider myself successful.

Contact Info:

  • Website: www.dorothyzhu.com
  • Email: qihuizhu@alum.calarts.edu
  • Instagram: @dorothyzhu.art


Image Credit:

Portrait Photo – Siobhan Kealy; Stills from a short film – “Butterfly” directed by Sihui Shao

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