The Colorful World of a Renaissance Man

For artist Mark Philip Wygonik, who once regarded himself as “just” a graphic designer, the ’90s were a defining decade. They brought him accolades for his directorial debut and theatre set designs, lessons in brokering art, and induction into an art institute’s Alumni Hall of Fame.
They also brought him perspective.

A man who hates mediocrity and “beige anything,” 42-year-old Wygonik understands better than most that what you do with your life is ultimately less important than how you do it. It’s a belief that shows up with maddening conviction in his painstakingly detailed work, his resplendent “oceanic modern” apartment and, occasionally, in his personal relationships.

Despite his love for community theatre, other commitments have forced him to cut back on his involvement with the Vero Beach Theatre Guild, where he has won a Genie award for eight of his 10 set designs since 1990 and was bestowed with the prestigious Jacobus-Siebert-Hazen award for continuous service. The San Juan Avenue playhouse, he says, has been “an important part” of his life and the main venue for his exploration of the performing arts. Here, qualified by his training in indigenous Caribbean dances, he has been one of a short list of choreographers on shows ranging from The King and I to The Wizard of Oz, which he directed for the guild’s 40th season.

Read the entire article in the September 2000 issue