not true that he has had fingers surgically altered to form tweezers nor does he have tiny hands. PHOTOS COURTESY R. FUNICELLO AND A. WEAVER The Miser by Molière South Coast Repertory Theatre, 1993 Directed by David Chambers Costumes by Shigeru Yaji Lighting by Chris Parry The Miser It is Ralph Funicello and I team teach a graduate design course at San Diego State University. He is a valued colleague and friend who always has something to teach me along with the students. So it is with pleasure that I have this opportunity to dispel those rumors that try to explain how his models are so beautifully detailed that when photographed they look like finished built sets. It is not true that he has had fingers surgically altered to form tweezers nor does he have tiny hands. Neither does he leave cookies and milk out at night for a group of elves who work on his models nor is he going blind from working at such small scale-or for any other reason. And since Ralph's heritage is Italian, he is not a descendent of Peter Carl Fabergé. Talent and skill are the answer. Ralph grew up in Mamaroneck, a bedroom community outside of New York City where two high school mentors introduced him to scene design. From then on, he was hooked, never thinking that his life could be spent doing anything other than designing scenery. Two years at Boston University ended when his professor, the noted designer Horace Armitage, retired. Moving to NYU, he studied with Wolfgang Roth and with Ming Cho Lee who had just been hired. Ralph was accepted into USA 829 while still a student and began assisting Ming. He received his degree in 1970. TD & T S U M M E R 2 0 0 4 49