Me and Lighting

 

Theatre has been a part of my life in some form or another since I was a todler. My mom would take me to see plays in one of the local comunity theatres or musicals being preformed by the local profesional company. I was always fasinated by the spectacles before my eyes and the stories that could be told.

 

When I finaly began participating in theatre I made the discovery that I was a terrible actress. Despite that I really wanted to be involved with the amazing, loving community that is theatre. So I worked backstage. For the most part I ran light boards, ocasionally working as a stage manager for one of the local community theaters. My love of lighting didn't develop until I went to college.

 

At Gustavus Adolphus College I was able to explore an aspect of theatre that I believe to be rarely understood. And I love feeling like I'm in on a big secret! Through lighting design I have discovered that I can help make worlds come alive on stage, and that I can be an artist with very little talent for drawing. I can turn the stage into a hot and sweltering desert or invoke the deeper emotions of the human soul. With lighting I have started to discover who I might possibly become and I am enjoying the person I am meeting every day!

 

This spring I will be completing my MFA in Lighting Design from California State University, Long Beach. I continue to learn everyday, through self discovery and collaboration, more and more about the wonderful art form that is lighting design.