Holder will join the faculty at the Geffen School and serve as Lighting Design Advisor at Yale Repertory Theatre, effective July 1, 2025.
Design
The purpose of the Design program is to develop theater artists who are accomplished, committed, daring designers of costume, lighting, projection, set, and sound for the theater. The program encourages students to discover their own process of formulating design ideas, to develop a discriminating standard for their own endeavors, and above all to prepare for a creative and meaningful professional life in the broad range of theater activities.
The Design program is committed to dismantling racism by engaging in an ongoing examination of the policies and practices of the program and the profession in general in order to expose biases and systemic advantage/oppression where they exist and to build a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment through anti-racist practices.
100%
All students in degree and certificate programs receive full tuition scholarships.
67% of current students receive need-based aid for living expenses.
30+
Production Opportunities
Students apply theory to professional practice in production work at the School, Yale Rep, and Yale Cabaret.
8
Affinity Groups
Coalition-building and networking among students who share common interests, goals, and/or a self-identified background.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2018/07/ysd_spring_2017_art-gallery_0040_web.jpg)
Brittany Bland (’19) with Wendall Harrington (Faculty) at a projection design installation at Yale University Art Gallery, 2017. Photo by Joan Marcus.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/ChoirBoy0113.jpg)
CHOIR BOY by Tarell Alvin McCraney (Faculty), directed by Christopher D. Betts (’22), Yale Repertory Theatre, 2022. Photo © Joan Marcus.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/Affinity-Photocall-DGSD-5-22-2085.jpg)
AFFINITY by Rebecca Adelsheim and Alex Keegan, based on the novel by Sarah Waters, directed by Alex Keegan. David Geffen School of Drama, 2022. Photo © T. Charles Erickson.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/DGSD-twelfth-night-2022-0059.jpg)
TWELFTH NIGHT by William Shakespeare, directed by James L. Fleming. David Geffen School of Drama, 2021. Photo © Leigh R. Busby.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/MASKED-she-kills-monsters-DGSDY-122.jpg)
SHE KILLS MONSTERS by Qui Nguyen, directed by Adrienne D. Williams. David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, 2021. Photo © T. Charles Erickson.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/12/DESIGN-2022YaleClasses-0491.jpg)
Costume Figure Drawing with Oana Botez. David Geffen School of Drama, spring 2022. Photo by Joan Marcus.
![](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2021/09/DESIGN-TONI-LESLIE-JAMES-2019-20Yale0025-2.jpg)
Toni-Leslie James with design students in classroom. David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, 2019. Photo by Joan Marcus.
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Program News
![Wendall K. Harrington](https://www.drama.yale.edu/app/uploads/2024/05/wendall-harrington-150x150.jpg)
May 22, 2024
Wendall K. Harrington Receives 2024 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre
Head of Projection at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, Harrington has designed for nearly 40 Broadway productions.
Head of Projection at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, Harrington has designed for nearly 40 Broadway productions.