The versatility of a theatre degree elevated Andy Berry to the top of an industry he never planned to enter.

Most theatre majors have probably imagined themselves taking home a Tony, Emmy or an Academy Award. As the gold standards of achievement in the field, it’s only natural to strive for the greatness they represent. With an Oscar win in 2023, alumnus Andy Berry (’93) knows what it’s like to reach the pinnacle of the entertainment world – even if the path to the top was different than he envisioned.

A St. Louis native, Berry’s natural love for theatre steered him toward the degree he would ultimately earn.

“I got involved in the program and it just kind of took off from there,” he said. “The education we got touched on every aspect of the art, so you learned everything from how to build scenery, to how to light a show, to how to apply makeup, to how to build a costume. All of those skills transfer into things you do later in life.”

After graduation, Berry headed west to Portland, Oregon. Other alumni he knew had found jobs in the city’s vibrant theatre community, and so did he, predominately as prop master at a couple of local theaters. That paved the way for some live-action film work as a carpenter and set dresser.

Around the same time, Oregon native Will Vinton, the creator of stop-motion classics such the California Raisins and the Domino’s Pizza Noid, was turning Portland into an animation hub.

“He was a pioneer in the area of stop-motion animation and Claymation,” Berry said. “He had a big hand in creating the studio, and it drew a lot of people from animation to the area.”

To keep up with demand, animation studios called on the theatre world. With a versatile skill set rooted in his theatre education, Berry soon found himself working on television commercials and eventually larger-scale productions such as the animated feature film “Coraline.”

“I never really intended to go into film or animation, but the opportunities just kept popping up around me,” he said. “It seems like it’s a common thing that theatre skills transfer over into other areas of the arts or media production.”

In his current role of art director, Berry oversees teams responsible for making models, landscapes and all of the visual elements associated with a stop-motion project in order to maintain a particular look and style.

“It’s really interesting to me to conceptualize environments based on what’s happening, or the characters that are involved in a show,” he said. “It’s fun to design things around the personality of a character, to kind of get into somebody’s head and design something around their persona.”

The world Berry helped create as the assistant art director for “Pinocchio” played a role in earning ShadowMachine studio an Oscar in 2023. Working with director Guillermo del Toro and stop-motion legend Mark Gustafson, the film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The project was slated to last 18 months before pandemic delays stretched the timeline to nearly four years.

“We managed to make something incredibly beautiful through some pretty uncertain times, and I think everybody on the crew has been pretty proud of what we made it through to make it happen,” Berry said. “It was an amazing experience, and I feel very fortunate to have been part of it.”

While the film industry of today might be synonymous with CGI and special effects, the world of stop-motion animation still has a large role to play, and Berry believes it holds a special place in the hearts of audiences.

“There is a love for the amount of detail and the amount of expression you get out of stop-frame animation that’s different, that doesn’t seem quite as artificial as computer-generated animation,” he said. “It will always be a 3D object that’s filmed on camera, and I think that’s kind of the charm and what people will be looking for – something that’s more genuine.”

Although his tradecraft has some decidedly old-school vibes, Berry is open to any techniques that can make his work more efficient, from advances in digital photography, to the use of rapid prototyping technology to make facial expressions or recreate pieces of sets and puppets. Berry even sees opportunity in the realm of artificial intelligence as it looms large over the future of creative arts.

“It’s encouraging and terrifying at the same time. It is, like any other new technology, probably something that deserves some respect, and it will find its niche eventually when we understand it better,” he said.

New technology may not be the only thing in Berry’s future. ShadowMachine has plenty on its to-do list after bringing home the Oscar. The team is responsible for the television series “In the Know” on Peacock, as well as the Nickelodeon hit “The Tiny Chef Show.” Also in the works are more feature films, including a second project with del Toro, so there may be more awards to come.

“It’s really kind of amazing to work with the quality of the people we have here,” he said. “There are more things on the horizon, so who knows what will happen.”