About Me (陈天璇）

Hi, I am Xuan, a scenic and lighting designer originally from Shanghai, China. After holding a BA in fashion design and two years of experience in the fashion industry in Shanghai, my fascination for theatre as an art form and its endless possibilities led me to transition into stage design. I completed my MFA in scenic and lighting design at Northwestern University and am currently based in Chicago.

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To me, each stage stands as a unique universe, with its distinct personality, temperament, and operational principles, transcending the constraints of time and place. It is a total expression of narratives and emotions made up of visual, sound, physical movements, language, and even tactile sense and smell.

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As a designer, I find my inspiration in texts, music, images, and experiences that resonate with me. My work explores visual poetry and focuses on the creation of a desired atmosphere on stage, telling the story emotionally and dramaturgically. I also like to explore the dynamic interplay between space, objects, and performers to evoke our emotional responses in an intuitive and sensory manner. As a collaborator, I enjoy the vibrant exchange of ideas that spark new thoughts and possibilities. I find the diverse perspectives of different individuals add layers of complexity and depth to the collective work.

I believe in the expressive quality of theatre like music—a universal language that can stimulate so many emotions and imaginations without saying a word. It should leave room for interpretation and imagination. I believe that the final completion of a theatre takes place within the minds of the audience. So rather than merely fulfilling the expectations of a story, I aim to craft experiences that invite the audience to actively engage, allowing their imaginations to flourish in response to the performance.