Design
B Entsminger
(Scenic Design)
B Entsminger they/he is an M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama, where their credits include The Salvagers at Yale Repertory Theatre, and student productions Marys Seacole and Hamlet Princesa de Dinamarca. Other select scenic design credits include The Dastardly Thornes V. The Town of Goldhaven, Sleeping Car Porters (The Brick); Tulsa Swinton Variety Hour (Flux Factory); L.A. Pretty Boy (Playwrights Horizons Theater School); Fatboy, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Overtime TX) and The Gas Heart (The McNay TX). B holds a B.A. from Trinity University San Antonio.
DeCarolis
(Lighting Design)
I am a multi-racial Asian American lighting designer. I base my design and artistry on illuminating the story I find myself telling. I strive to be a well respected collaborator. I believe that a good idea can come from anywhere, from anyone, at anytime. I fell in love with lighting during while working at night clubs in Salt Lake City, Utah and soon found my self working at mega clubs in Las Vegas. That love has only grown since diving headfirst into theatre. I bring my love of live music, flash and trash, and spectacle to the stage. But also can find the beauty and subtle of theatrical lighting.
Joe Krempetz
(Sound Design)
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Joe is a sound designer and composer for theater, dance, film, and video games. Joe discovered his passion for sound by designing countless productions during his time at UC Santa Cruz, including Zoot Suit directed by Kinan Valdez. After college, Joe freelanced as a Sound Designer, working with companies like Berkeley Rep, TheaterWorks, Microsoft Inc., Stanford University, Live Design International, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and many more. In fall of 2019, Joe came to Yale Rep as a technical intern in sound, and was later accepted into the Sound Design M.F.A. class of 2024.
As a composer, Joe works to generate visceral soundscapes that harmonize with the natural world -- almost all of his compositions contain some sort of recording of nature. Alongside choreographer Amelia Nommensen, he conceptualized and composed a full length dance show, Upwelling, which intertwines recordings of marine life with a variety of musical styles. Joe also recently recorded, edited, and sound designed Andrei Kureichek’s New Voices of Belarus with the support of the Human Rights Foundation as an exhibit at the Oslo Freedom Forum.
Since starting at Yale, Joe has worked on a staggering 37 productions in and outside of school. His credits include Sound Design and Original Music for The Far Country (Yale Rep) and Sound Design for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Yale Rep,) Julius Caesar, and Fucking A (DGSD) He was Associate Sound Designer on The Brightest Thing in the World (Yale Rep) and Assistant Sound Designer on Between Two Knees (Yale Rep).
In his free time, Joe doesn’t stray too far from the world of sound; studying music theory, honing his production skills, and practicing with his keyboard, drum pad, and turntables. Aside from making noise, Joe enjoys exploring nature, camping, cooking, science fiction, and carpentry projects.
John Horzen
(Projection Design)
John Horzen he/him is a projection designer, graduating with an M.F.A from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. He received his bachelors degree in Violin Performance from the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, and is constantly examining the connective tissue that binds his rhyming loves of producing, designing, and communal music-making in order to find new ways of storytelling. John’s selected projection credits include The Planets (Woolsey Hall, Co-Projection Designer), Cuatro Bailes (The Bushnell, Co-Developer and Set/Projections designer), The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Houston Grand Opera, 3D Animator), and The Kite Runner (The Hayes Theater, 3D Animator).
Kim Zhou
(Set Design)
Kim Zhou she/her/hers is a set designer and theater maker. Her recent credits include The Far Country (Yale Repertory Theater), Next to Normal (David Geffen School of Drama); Pride365 (Yale Summer Cabaret); La Doriclea (Associate Scenic Design, Yale Baroque Opera); And the Beetle Hums (playwright), Every Brilliant Thing, We Fucked Up, Dr. Ride’s American Beach House, and We’re Gonna Die (Yale Cabaret). She received her bachelor’s degree from OCAD University in Toronto, where she studied and practiced architecture design.
Kiyoshi Shaw
(Costume Design)
Kiyoshi Shaw (he/him) holds an M.F.A. from the David Geffen School of Drama, where he has designed costumes for Lloyd Suh's The Far Country, directed by Ralph Peña at Yale Repertory Theatre, Ibsen's Ghosts directed by Jacob Basri, and Shakespeare's Julius Caesar directed by Garret Allen. He received his B.F.A. in costume design and technology from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he designed costumes for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Assistant credits include Fly at Ford’s Theatre, Bodas de Sangre at the Geffen School, and Choir Boy at Yale Rep.
Lia Tubiana
(Set Design)
Lia is a scenic designer and interior architect.
Born and raised in Paris, she discovered her fascination for spatial design during the foundation course of the ESAG Penninghen. After a year she left to pursue her studies in architecture in Milan, at the Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), where she earned her B.F.A. in 2018.
She is currently in her final days at the David Geffen school of drama at Yale, pursuing an MFA in Scenic design.
Her recent credits include Escaped Alone directed by Liz Diamond, littleboy/littleman directed by Jacob Basri, Julius Caesar directed by Garrett Allen, and as an associate set designer Les Paravents directed by Arthur Nauzyciel at the Théatre de L’Odéon in Paris.
Mike Winch
(Sound Design)
Mike winch he/him/his is a sound designer and composer from Washington, D.C. He has been nominated for four Helen Hayes awards working in Maryland, DC, and Virginia. He has a B.A. in Music Technology from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Mike has worked on such notable productions at Yale as Wish You Were Here, Next to Normal, and Cactus Queen. With a love for synthesizers and Irish fiddle, Mike has worked as a teaching fellow at Yale developing new modes of human/machine interaction.
Omid Akbari
(Set Design)
Omid Akbari he/him/his is a scenic designer and costume concept artist. He is currently in his final semester at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale, where his recent credits include the Dwight/Edgewood Project, Furlough's Paradise, and Macbeth. At Yale Rep, he was the scenic designer for Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi in 2023. He received his Bachelor's degree in set design from the University of Art in Tehran, Iran. He has done many productions in Iran as a set and costume designer and was nominated for Best Set Designer at the International Theatre Festival in Iran.
Risa Ando
(Costume Design)
Risa Ando she/her is a costume designer, born and raised in Japan. She has had a pleasure of working in various theater communities including Japan, Ireland, and NYC. Design credits include: A View from the Bridge (Long Wharf Theatre); The Salvagers (Yale Repertory Theatre); Furlough's Paradise, Next to Normal (DGSD); Mamma Mia! (Forestburgh Playhouse); #4 (Yale Cabaret); Switch No Otoko (Eclo, Tokyo); Dracula, Otoko-kai (Gekidan ljin-Butai, Tokyo); The Woman Is Present: Women's Stories of WWII (Smashing Times Theatre, Dublin); The Best Place For Love (Fire&lce Production, Dublin); Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles (Wonderland Productions, Dublin). She received a BFA in costume design from SUNY Purchase College, and is currently in her final year pursuing an M.F.A. at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
Sam Skynner
(Projection Design)
Sam Skynner she/her is a designer, educator and researcher working between New York City and Toronto. Sam is interested in theater, dance, opera, film and installation. Selected credits include, Wish You Were Here, Yale Rep (Projection Designer), X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, The Metropolitan Opera (2D Animator), DIANAROSSDREAM, Dancemakers (Lighting Design), Cactus Queen, DGSD (Projection Design), Highway Patrol, The Goodman Theater (2D Animator), Alice’s Wonderland, South Coast Rep (Content Creator), Reflections of Native Voices Festival, Lamama and New York Theater Workshop (Video Editor), Family Pictures USA x Syracuse, Everson Art Gallery, (Video Consultant), Rebecca Love, Mixtape Projects, (Lighting Design), Next To Normal, DGSD (Projection Design), Brubeck, TMU, (Projection Design), Not With a Bang… But a Whimper, TMU, (Projection Design). Additionally, Sam has extensive experience working in education and has designed and instructed workshops for the Yale School of Art, Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media and Yale College. Sam was awarded a 2023 Beinecke Fellowship for her ongoing research project Technology, Experimentation and Theatrical Consciousness in the work of Mary Ellen Bute, conducting research at the Beinecke Library in New Haven and the LACMA in Los Angeles. Sam is the recipient of a CCAM studio fellowship for her hologram installation Rex, later commissioned for a remount at the Machine as Medium Symposium. In July 2024 Sam will begin her appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor of Film, Media and Theater at Mount Holyoke College.
Stan Mathabane
(Sound Design)
Stan Mathabane is a sound designer, composer, audio engineer, multi-instrumentalist, DJ, actor based in New York City, by way of Portland, Oregon --the coastal opposite of his birthplace, High Point, North Carolina. Stan's work spans theater, film, dance, virtual/augmented reality, video games, installation, and live performance. His design has resonated with audiences at the Prague Quadrennial, The Public Theater, The Juilliard School, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Stanford Live, and more.
Recent sound design credits include the World Premiere of The Salvagers by Harrison David Rivers (Yale Repertory Theatre), Passing Strange (Long Wharf Theater); SEARED by Theresa Rebeck (Gloucester Stage); On Love by Mfoniso Udofia (MCC Theater); Lines in the Dust by Nikkole Salter (New Normal Rep); Color Boy by Esperanza Rosales (The Carlotta Festival); Not Medea! (Art House Productions); Happy Days (The Wild Project); JAZZ SINGER by Joshua Gelb (Abrons' Playhouse Theater).
Assistant/Associate credits include Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, and Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles by Luis Alfaro. Upcoming: The Brothers Size @ The Geffen Playhouse (Fall 2024).
Stan holds a B.A. from Princeton University.
stanmathabane.com | @stanmathabane
Suzu Sakai
(Scenic Design)
Suzu Sakai is a NYC & Tokyo based freelance scenic designer. Working and having experience in theater production & design in NYC, Tokyo, and in other large cities, she has a passion for all aspects of artistic development and collaboration, as well as storytelling through new mediums in digital art & media.
Upcoming & recent productions include: The Brothers Size (Geffen Playhouse, LA), Opera: The Rake's Progress (Shubert Theater, CT), Musical: Lizard Boy (NYC Off Broadway Premiere & OSF Production), and Straight White Men (Southwark Playhouse, London), as well as working in production management at PARCO Inc. and space design in the digital art & media industry in Tokyo. She has assisted Broadway and Off-Broadway designers in both set & lighting.
Suzu holds a B.A. in Theater from Smith College, and is a M.F.A. candidate in Theater Design at The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
Born in Tokyo, growing up in California, Chiang Mai, and Hiroshima, Suzu is passionate about arts education and cultural issues around the globe, and hopes to bridge the world through artistic storytelling.
T.F. Dubois
(Costume Design)
T.F. Dubois is a fourth-year M.F.A. candidate at the David Geffen School of Drama, where they have designed costumes for Sanaz Toossi's Wish You Were Here (dir. Sivan Battat) at Yale Repertory Theatre, Jackie Sibblies Drury's Marys Seacole (Dir. Leyla Levi) , and Rudi Goblen's little boy, little man (dir. Jacob Basuri). They received their BFA in Costume Design and Technology from Virginia Commonwealth University, where they designed costumes for Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves (dir. Sharon Ott). Theo is interested in the intangible nature of the mind and enjoys translating it into a visual vessel of compassion, curiosity, and understanding for others through their design practice.
Yichen Zhou
(Lighting & Set Design)
Yichen Zhou is a theatre designer working mostly with lighting and scenic. In her time in the theatre, Yichen is deeply fascinated by the truth one finds through imagination; the possibilities and danger behind a stage door; how darkness also has colors; how silence can say more. Yichen is motivated by her belief in the power of stories in political and cultural landscapes and is eager to tell stories that are provoking, inspiring, and awakening. She is always excited to tell a story with you.
Selected recent credits include Invasive Species (The Tank); The Rasa Project (National Sawdust); The Far Country (Yale Repertory Theatre); Marys Seacole, Ghosts, Furlough’s Paradise, Twelfth Night (David Geffen School of Drama at Yale); The Royale, BURNBABYBURN: an american dream, #4, Dr Ride's american beach house (Yale Cabaret); If We Could Turn Back Time (Connecticut College); and A Number (Beijing Inside-Out Theatre).
zhouyichen.design | @yichen.zhou.design
Yu-Jung Shen 沈毓融
(Costume Design)
Yu-Jung Shen 沈毓融 is a painter-artist from Taiwan and a 2024 M.F.A. candidate at David Geffen School of Drama at Yale. His/ ta-de current focus is dramatic art and design. He received a 2017 World Stage Design Gold Medal award for Pool (No water), award-sponsored by OISTAT (International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians) with his Taiwan Taipei National University of the Arts undergrad colleagues. He has worked mostly as a costume design assistant, illustrator, tailor, draper, milliner, embroiderer, and textile artist for various companies: Axiom Space, 中華民國 Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, Saudi Arabia’s at-Turaif Living Museum, AMC Networks, The University of Texas at Austin, ZACH Theater, Ping-Fong Acting Troupe, and Godot Theatre Company.
Charles T. Meier
(Set Design)
Charles T. Meier is a bi-coastal scenic designer, originally from Southern California.
Credits at Yale include Ghosts, The Winter's Tale, and The Hedgehog's Dilemma (Yale Cabaret). Credits at Wheaton College, Illinois include: The House of Bernarda Alba, A Phoenix Too Frequent, and The Stonewater Rapture. Charles is currently working on an upcoming production of King Lear, directed by Karin Coonrod.
Charles has won over three dozen awards as a float designer for the Rose Parade® held in Pasadena, California, each New Year's Day. Select clients include: Amazon Prime Video, PBS Masterpiece, The Los Angeles Lakers, Zappos, Donate Life, and The UPS Store. As former owner and creative director of Paradiso Parade Floats, Charles grew the gross receipts of the business more than tenfold in six years. He sold the business to train as a scenic designer.
Charles holds a B.A. from Wheaton College, IL and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from the University of Birmingham, UK.