Scott Monnin is a Lighting Designer from Granville, Ohio. They like to do work that centers identity and technology and are excited for their work on an upcoming new opera Making it Click that will focus on the intersection of technology, the self, and how it shapes our interactions with each other. They are particularly interested in exploring the intersections of gender and sexuality with technology and live performance art, as with works like Playing Wolves, which explore the intersection of live and virtual performance and have allowed them the chance to light virtually and in person simultaneously as well as explore virtual production at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts as one of their inaugural research fellows. This interest has accumulated in their thesis: “The Influence of Theatrical Design on the Formation of Gender and Sexuality Identities.”

They love how live theater gives an unique space for collaboration, interaction, mess, and the ability to directly confront audiences to achieve meaning in ways impossible to replicate through other media. 

Currently, they are based out of NYC & DC where they do both Design and Associate Design work, both locally and globally. They are on Tour as the Relighter for Dead as a Dodo, where they are excited to travel across the United States, bringing life to puppetry from Phoenix to Boston, as well as designing for several dance shows for American University and Peabody Institute. 

Recently, they graduated with an MFA in Theater Design from the University of Maryland, and previously earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics and English from Ohio State University. In grad school, they have been happy to expand their skills from theater into Dance and Opera, as well as working with new technologies for performance. They have been excited to work with shows like Dance² that have integrated robots and live audience feedback with dance. 

Selected recent Lighting Design Credits include Playing Wolves at Tepou Theatre in Auckland for New Zealand Pride, Dance² at the PRAx Center for the Arts in Corvallis, OR, The Creeps at Playhouse46 in Manhattan, Islander national tour as Associate/American relighter at various venues, and Rocky Horror at Pendragon Theater in Saranac Lake.

As an Associate last summer, they worked with Punchdrunk for Sleep No More‘s transfer to Seoul, Korea, and are excited to continue their exploration of immersive dance.

Outside of their own design, Scott has worked as an Associate/Assistant in several theaters in both Washington DC and New York: Signature Theater, Woolly Mammoth Theater, Roundhouse Theater, Onley Theater, Wolf Trap Opera, City Center, Playhouse46, and Theatre Row.