I am a freelance lighting designer and educator for live performance

Vision and Values

As a theater artist, I employ fierce, vibrant contemporary aesthetics to support storytelling that challenges outmoded belief systems and societal structures. These include class, race, accessibility, gender and sexuality, indigenous oppression, and any other constructs that inhibit empathic action. I am dedicated to fostering an environment where all voices are heard, celebrated, and empowered.

The work of theater extends far beyond producing an entertaining evening; it is deeply rooted in the magic of collective experience, collaboration, and mentorship. Every project I undertake is an opportunity to craft stories that resonate on both emotional and intellectual levels, engaging audiences in profound and memorable ways.

Likewise, in educational spaces, I strive to craft an inclusive and dynamic environment where students are encouraged to challenge themselves and expand their potential. My primary goal is to ensure that every student, regardless of their background or future career path, gains a meaningful and transformative experience that equips them with the skills and confidence to excel.

Biography

Selected New York credits: The Shape of Things (with Carrie Mae Weems at the Park Avenue Armory); Macbeth (directed by John Doyle at Classic Stage); Duat (Soho Rep); Men on Boats (World Premiere: Playwrights Horizons/Clubbed Thumb); This is the Color... (Door 10/Baryshnikov Arts Center); Christina Anderson’s Hollow Roots (with Lileana Blain-Cruz at the Public/Under the Radar); America is Hard to See (LifeJacket/HERE); Rite of Spring (Martha Graham Dance Co.); The Soldier’s Tale (Carnegie Hall); 17 Minutes, Enemy of the People, The Pavilion, Expecting Isabel, Muswell Hill (Barrow Group); The Film Society (Keen / Theatre Row); I Came to Look for You on Tuesday (La Mama); White’s Lies (New World Stages).

I have been a frequent collaborator with director Robert Wilson. Projects include Otello (Festspielhaus Baden Baden, Germany); Il Trovatore (Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Teatro Regio di Parma, Italy); and Oedipus (Ancient Theatre of Pompeii, Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, Teatro Mercadante di Napoli, Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus).

Regionally: Arden, Berkshire Theatre Group, Magic, Merry-Go-Round, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Portland Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, Portland Stage, Quintessence, TheatreSquared, Tri-Cities Opera, Westport Country Playhouse, Writers, Yale Rep.

My work in dance, dance/theatre and avant-garde music includes original works with Alethea Adsitt, Jennifer Archibald, Jonah Bokaer, Christine Bonansea, Joshua Beamish/MOVE, Maria Chavez, Ximena Garnica/Leimay, Lane Gifford, Invisible Anatomy, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, LoudHound Movement, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ofelia Loret de Mola, Patrick Lovejoy, Belinda McGuire, Stefanie Nelson, Patricia Noworol, The Nerve Tank (as resident designer), Jennifer Harrison Newman, Waxfactory, Yue Yin, and four major works as associate set designer with Bill T. Jones. I have worked in various capacities on touring productions across the US, Canada, Italy, France, Slovenia, Taiwan, and the Dominican Republic.

I was the associate lighting designer on the Broadway production of Jitney and its national tour, which earned lighting designer Jane Cox a tony nomination. Other associate credits include two seasons at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy (with AJ Weissbard); the Holland Festival in Amsterdam (for Tyler Micoleau); and at Minnesota Opera (with Steve TenEyck) among many others.

As an educator and guest artist, I have taught and worked with students at Bard, Barnard, Connecticut College, City College, Columbia, DeSales, East Stroudsburg, Fordham, NYU/Tisch, The New School, Princeton, University of the Arts, University of Rochester (where I was adjunct faculty), Quinnipiac, Willamette, and Yale. I am currently Assistant Professor of Scenic/Lighting Design and Associate Director of the School of Music and Theater at Portland State University

I earned a BFA with honors from Ithaca College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

photo: Josiah Bania

Awards / Honors:

  • Member, United Scenic Artists Local 829

  • Drammy Nomination, pen/man/ship at Portland Playhouse, 2017

  • Barrymore nomination, The Secret Garden with Arden Theatre Company, 2016

  • Recipient of the Opera America Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize, 2015

  • Drammy Nomination, A Christmas Carol with Portland Playhouse, 2013

  • Featured in American Theatre Magazine's "Production Notebook" for Quartet v4.0 with WaxFactory, May/June 2010

  • Stanley R. McCandless Fellow, Yale School of Drama

  • George Harrison Senie Scholar, Yale School of Drama