Alexander McCargar

PhD Candidate, School of Drama (Design)

My research surrounds the Bibiena family and the spread of their influence throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Bibiena Family was a dynasty of theater designers and architects originating from Italy who designed thousands of theatrical productions, royal events such as weddings and funerals, and many theater buildings. Members of the family worked in virtually every major court of Europe and where they did not get to physically, etchings and drawings of their designs were widely distributed. Today, hardly any of their work survives in full scale but hundreds of sketches and prints remain in various archives throughout the world including those at Yale. Before beginning my graduate studies I conducted research at the Austrian National Theater Museum in Vienna while on a Fulbright Grant.