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Michael Rathbun

Assistant Professor of Lighting Design

Theatre

Background

Michael Rathbun is an accomplished lighting designer for theater, opera, dance and other varieties of live performance. 

His designs have been seen on stages in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Bangkok, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Dublin, London and Paris, with some notable institutions including San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and the LA Dance Project, among others. Notable venues include LA's Hollywood Bowl, Lyon's Th茅芒tre antique de Fourvi猫re and Dublin's Smock Alley. 

Some notable credits of his include Kanye West's Sunday Service Choir (associate lighting designer), Theatre Y's devised adaptation of 3 Sisters (lighting designer), Ariel Dorfman's La Muerte y La Doncella (scenic and lighting designer), Benjamin Millepied's Pillar 7 (lighting designer), Handel's Giustino produced by Long Beach Opera with an arrangement by Grammy-nominated composer Shelley Washington (lighting designer) and Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem (midwest premier, lighting designer). 

Rathbun holds a BA in philosophy with a minor in neuroscience from Wells College and an MFA in state design with a minor in dramaturgy from the Lir Academy, a part of Trinity College, Dublin. Examples of his work can be found in his online portfolio at

Education

  • MFA in stage design, with a concentration in lighting design, from  The Lir Academy at Trinity College, Dublin
  • BA in philosophy from Wells College

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