---
title: The Production Behind the Production
date: 2025-05-01T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/the-production-behind-the-production"
section: Articles
---
# The Production Behind the Production

*May 1, 2025* — by [Maryland Today Staff](/author/maryland-today-staff)


> TDPS Student Helps Set the Scenes for Shows at The Clarice

[Feature Video: The Production Behind the Production](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2CVh3nBuLA?)



Ever look past the actors and musicians at a stage production at The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and wonder what it took to create the impressive sets that make the performances even more immersive?

In the latest installment in our “[Peer Review](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoGjqglwdLfylhKs_oBC-vL5t_HwF9SAQ)” video series, meet Mars Burggraf ’25, a theatre and dance double degree student who in addition to working as a scenic artist at The Clarice, is an actor, choreographer and playwright.

Even before the action begins, a set is the first thing audience members experience, they said.

“Getting to have that immediate impact on an audience is so powerful, and something I take a lot of pride in,” said Burggraf, who recently painted sets for the Maryland Opera Studio’s production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor.



**Sidebar note:**

For a full list of everyone who brought “The Merry Wives of Windsor” to life, check out the [program book](https://theclarice.umd.edu/sites/default/files/program-notes/20250307_The%20Merry%20Wives%20of%20Windsor%20MOS_v5_WEB.pdf).





**Topics:** [Arts & Culture](https://today.umd.edu/tags/arts-culture)


**Tags:** [Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies](https://today.umd.edu/topic/theatre-dance-performance-studies), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts)


**Units:** [Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center](https://today.umd.edu/topic/clarice-smith-performing-arts-center), [College of Arts and Humanities](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-arts-and-humanities)