October 16., 2019

Erin is a full-time freelance Lighting Designer and Electrician. She’s been in the industry for 10 years and has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with an emphasis in Lighting Design from Gustavus Adolphus.

“Some theatre friends from Minneapolis told me about GREAT Theatre; there was a show they were looking for a Lighting Designer for, and it’s been a great connection and experience ever since. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is my 5th GREAT Theatre show I’ve designed lighting for.”

So how does someone ‘get into’ theatre lighting? We asked the same thing!

“I helped with board operation in the community theatre in my hometown of Anoka. Then in college, we had to get involved in theatre classes and a professor asked me to be an assistant lighting designer. I really liked it, and that became my degree emphasis.”

Erin designs and assists with lighting design in about 25 shows each year.

“I love working with GREAT Theatre. I love this space (the Paramount Center for the Arts) and it’s historical features. The collaboration that GREAT has with the crews and the concepts for their shows … it’s always fun and something new. My favorite lighting moments in ‘Alice in Wonderland’ are the quirky ones … Alice falling down the rabbit hole, the Queen getting mad, the door shrinking… those are the fun moments for me.”