My Season as Scenic Designer for New Swan Shakespeare Festival (2025)
July 2025 — I’m beyond excited to announce that I’m serving as the Season Scenic Designer for the New Swan Shakespeare Festival at UC Irvine. This year, I’m designing two Shakespeare productions in rotating repertory—All’s Well That Ends Well and Much Ado About Nothing—in the festival’s unique open-air space.
Much Ado has been reimagined in a Wild West setting with live bluegrass music, while All’s Well unfolds in a Romantic-era world full of adventure and heart (UCI Drama).
What makes this season especially meaningful is the festival’s model: melding professional designers, faculty, and students inside a portable, Elizabethan-style theater that seats just 130 people (About New Swan). It’s intimate, raw, and beautifully close to the action.
This role is more than a title; it’s a chance to stretch imaginatively every night under Southern California skies. I’m continually inspired by how this festival transforms Shakespeare from page to pulse—with collaboration, light, and generosity.
Alls Well That Ends Well
Creative Team
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Rob Salas
Dramaturg Julia Lupton
Fight Director Michael Polak
Scenic Design Brandon PT Davis
Costume Design Ayrika Johnson
Lighting Design Nita Mendoza
Sound Design & Composer Aerik Harbert
Much Ado About Nothing
Creative Team
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Eli Simon
Music Director & Band Leader Megan January
Dramaturg Ian Munro
Fight Director Michael Polak
Scenic Design Brandon PT Davis
Costume Design Kathryn Poppen
Lighting Design Karyn D. Lawrence
Sound Design & Composer Aerik Harbert
