Artist Statement
My creative working philosophy is that, as an artist, if a show doesn’t challenge me then I’m designing it wrong. Creativity is the most powerful driving force in all of human history, and I find that my creativity flourishes when I have obstacles to overcome and challenges to face. Typically I adapt and overcome those challenges through collaboration with my design team, analyzing the script of a show to discover the themes and how I could best reveal them through my craft, then translating those thematic ideas into light for the audience to understand.
I have always been drawn to the fantastical world of theatre. The ability to pull an audience into a story so thoroughly the world around them falls away, how the smallest piece of a show can create the largest impact on the audience, and how people can leave having a new outlook on society are just a few of the elements of theatre I revere.
As a lighting designer I incorporate a visual medium with a performance culture. When I am designing a show, my drive comes from how challenging and intellectually demanding theatre is. Collaborative conversations with directors and the design team give me a path I can follow for my design, while limitations set for the show force me to think creatively to incorporate the show’s themes without sacrificing my artistic vision. I am not just someone who turns lights on and off or picks random colors to put on stage. I am an artist; light and the stage are my paint and canvas. I use lighting to enhance the mood of a show and I am engrossed in this field because I love the creative freedom lighting design gives me.