Salina ? It’s been a long journey from China to Salina for Xiaopo Wang.

Wang (pronounced “wong”) recently was hired as the scenic designer and technical director at Salina Community Theatre, 303 E. Iron.

This is not his first trip to Kansas, however.

“I had worked for Music Theatre of Wichita and became fond of Kansas,” said Wang, who grew up near Beijing. “When I saw what they have here at Salina Community Theatre, I really wanted to work here. I love this space.”

Wang, 29, will work closely with J.R. Lidgett, SCT’s other technical director and designer, on the theater’s annual six main stage shows and the youth theater productions.

Wang’s first assignment was to create a lavish set for the opening production of Salina Community Theatre’s 50th anniversary season, “Hello, Dolly!”

The musical opened recently and runs through the end of September.

Xiaopo Wang poses with his set for Salina Community Theatre’s production of “Hello, Dolly!” in Salina on Sept. 8.

Bringing his skills to set

As befitting his background, part of Wang’s set design resembles a series of Chinese boxes. These modular units, or “wagons,” of different sizes move on and off stage, rotate and connect together in different ways to create multiple set pieces for the musical.

Wang’s set conception is both ingenious and breathtaking to look at, said Salina Community Theatre Executive Director Michael Spicer.

“When people see ‘Hello, Dolly!’ and see the set, they’ll be impressed,” he said. “Xiaopo’s imagination and skills are such that we feel he will elevate SCT and what we do.”

Elevating all aspects of production at the theater is what Spicer and his staff want to achieve this year, especially since SCT is in the midst of a $3.5 million expansion that will add nearly 21,000 square feet of space.

The expansion will include a second performance space, a 150-seat theater to be named the Sunflower Financial Theatre, scheduled to open in spring 2011.

As SCT celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and prepares for the future, Spicer expected Wang to be an important part of its growth.

“We know from Xiaopo (pronounced “shou,” as in “shout”) we’ll get the level of work the theater deserves,” he said.

Wang moves part of his “Hello, Dolly!” set in Salina. The units he has designed can connect in different ways to be made into various set pieces.

Not an actor

When Wang moved to the U.S. from China in 2003, his focus was on computer science, not set design.

“I came to get a master’s degree in computer technology,” said Wang, who attended the State University of New York at Potsdam. “I took an acting class to see what it was like, and that made me decide to pursue theater as a career.”

It didn’t take long for Wang to decide he’d rather work back stage than on stage.

“I didn’t want to be an actor — English was not my first language,” he said. “But I loved the stage, the live and spontaneous aspect of it. It gave you a chance to create something from your imagination. Through set design, I could use my imagination in another way to interpret or communicate the script.”

Wang finished his undergraduate degree at Potsdam, then in 2006 enrolled in graduate school at Wayne State University in Detroit. In 2009, he earned a master’s in stage design.

In 2008, Wang got his first professional set designing job for “Two By Two,” a musical rendition of the Biblical tale of Noah, for the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, of Bloomfield, Mich.

The irony of a Chinese designer building a set for a Jewish theater troupe doing a Christian-themed musical is not lost on Wang.

“But it was that production that made me realize what design was,” he said. “I had to create something good on a low budget.”

After graduation, Wang worked at theaters in New Jersey and New Hampshire, creating sets for musicals such as “Sweeney Todd,” “Ain’t Misbehavin”‘ and “The Bikinis.”

Settling down in Salina

When Wang was brought to Salina for an interview and tour of the SCT, he was impressed at what he saw.

“It’s really a great theater for a town this size, better than a lot of equity theaters I’ve seen,” he said. “The theater serves the community so well, and the community supports the theater. The education program has done really well here. It’s a nice environment.”

The theater staff also was impressed by Wang, Spicer said.

“Twenty applicants applied for this job, from Kansas to both coasts,” he said. “We looked at Xiaopo’s work, and it had this visual element that we knew would elevate what we do here.”

Once hired, Wang didn’t waste any time tackling a challenging musical like “Hello, Dolly!,” which required the building of large-scale sets.

“It’s a big show, and people want to see big scale, grand sets,” he said.

Wang has been living in the U.S. nearly 20 years, but he hasn’t cut ties with his Chinese roots. His dream is to encourage an artistic and cultural exchange with his homeland by encouraging the Beijing Opera to perform in Salina and perhaps send a community theater show to tour China one day.

For the moment, however, he’s concentrating on his day to day work at SCT, having completed the first of what he hopes are many first-rate sets for the theater.

“It’s all an ongoing process for me,” he said. “It’s all about learning the space and learning from my colleagues and the audience. It’s about getting the best out of me.”