Here are some thoughts about my time at UBC:
MIKE INWOOD
UBC was where I discovered my love for working behind the scenes in theatre. The faculty’s openness and encouragement of students who didn’t know what exactly they were looking for in the theatre world (I had begun my time as a performer) gave us a chance to explore many paths. In my time at UBC I was able to act, design sound, build scenery, work as a Head Electrician and TD, and begin to feel my way through the world of lighting.
One of the things I most value about UBC’s Theatre Department was that they gave students a significant (perhaps surprising) amount of autonomy to pursue their own projects, and it was there I first discovered that Lighting Design was the discipline that really spoke to me. Fortunately, the department was there to help students like myself develop my skills so I could continue to follow my passion. I found it extremely valuable to be able to apply the theoretical knowledge I was learning in class through work on entirely student-driven productions like the Brave New Play Rites festival and the 520 Directing Class Projects, in addition to my work on the regular UBC Theatre season. If it hadn’t been for that vital combination of theory, practical training, and the freedom to explore and create on my own, I’m certain I would not be in the career I am today.
The Essential Straight & Narrow
Mike Inwood designs lighting for opera, theatre, dance, special events and television. In New York City, Mike has designed critically acclaimed Off-Broadway productions, including HIR (Playwrights Horizons – New York Times Best of 2015), Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova – New York Times Best of 2015), Empire Travel Agency (Woodshed Collective – The Guardian Best of 2015), Stupid Fucking Bird (The Pearl Theatre Company), and Out Cold/Zippo Songs (American Opera Projects at BAM).
Regionally in the United States, Mike has designed productions including La Traviata (Boston Lyric Opera), Rinaldo (Portland Opera), Into the Woods (Theatre Horizon, Philadelphia), God of Carnage (Perseverance Theatre, Alaska), and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Curtis Opera Theatre, Philadelphia).
Mike is proud to have designed multiple works with Canadian choreographers Amber Funk Barton and Joshua Beamish, working with their respective companies the response, and MOVE: The Company, at venues in Canada and the United States, including New York’s Joyce Theatre.
Since 2013 Mike has designed the lighting for the famous Macy’s Christmas Windows at their flagship store in New York City, which in 2013 won the DDI Magazine Platinum Award for Best Holiday Window Display, beating competition from New York’s most well-known retailers, including Tiffany’s and Bloomingdale’s.
In 2014 Mike received a nomination for the American Theatre Wing’s Henry Hewes Design Award for his lighting design of the Mad Ones’ production The Essential Straight and Narrow. In 2010 Mike earned an Emmy Award for his work as part of the NBC Sports lighting team for coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. www.mikeinwood.com
Here is what’s coming up for me:
Friend Art at 2econd Stage Theatre, NYC, Spring 2016
Small Mouth Sounds at Signature Theatre, NYC, Summer 2016
La Traviata at Pittsburgh Opera, Fall 2016
CoPresence at NYLA, NYC, Fall 2016
Telethon at The Bushwick Starr, NYC, Fall 2016
Macy’s Christmas Windows, NYC, Fall/Winter 2016
King Lear at Whitman College, Washington, Spring 2017
VAST at The Roundhouse, Vancouver, Fall 2017
