Set Designer Helen Pond Has Passed Away

Set designer Helen Pond passed away on April 11 at the age of 92. Along with her partner, Herbert Senn, Pond was a mainstay of the Massachusetts theatre scene, designing near to 400 sets for Cape Playhouse in Dennis over 38 years. Pond and Senn built the 91-year-old theatre's distinctive gazebo, and the scene shop is named in their honor.

Born June 26, 1924, Pond began her professional career with a graduate degree from Columbia University School of Dramatic Arts. It was here that she met Senn, and the two went on to design and build sets for Helen Hayes, Maurice Evans, and Jean Stapleton. In addition to their extensive work at Cape Playhouse, Pond and Senn worked on more than 60 sets for the Opera Company of Boston, such as a 1967 production of Voyage to the Moon, presented to the Apollo astronauts and President Lyndon B. Johnson. Pond and Senn also created elaborate sets for Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker in 1978, and then again in 1995.

Pond also designed for several Broadway productions, including Noël Coward's Sweet Potato, A Musical Jubilee, Macbeth, and Showboat.

In 2015, Pond received a lifetime achievement award from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod.

Pond married Senn in 2003, shortly before his death. She is survived by a niece and four nephews. A memorial celebration is currently being arranged. Donations can be made in her name to Cape Playhouse.