Trevor Norton's lighting designs impress audiences across Southern California

July 7, 2015

Over the past two years, Director of Production Trevor Norton’s lighting designs have impressed audiences across Southern California, including those who attended productions at the Shakespeare Center Los Angeles, San Diego Repertory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa.

While working on such diverse productions as Romeo and Juliet, In the Heights, Simply Shakespeare 2013 with Paul McCartney, Globe Gala, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Norton used hundreds of lighting instruments to manipulate the intensity, angle, color, contrast, texture and movement of the light. 

“As lighting designer, it is my job to be a part of the creative team that visualizes the world of the play,” he said. “Working with the director and other designers we create an environment for the play to live in and a world for the actors to inhabit. A lighting designer researches the period and location of the play and combines that information with other ‘inspirational’ research to come up with a visual language for the show. During technical rehearsals, I finally get to ‘paint’ with light as we work through each moment in the play to determine the right look and the right timing.”

Norton is now working on a new play, Paloma, at The Los Angeles Theatre Center, and will also design the musical VIOLET at San Diego Repertory Theatre in August. One of his favorite productions of 2014 was Charlotte’s Web at South Coast Repertory Theatre, which he co-designed with his University of Redlands Theatre Arts Department colleague Nephelie Andonyadis.

“Not only was it a beautiful design,” he said, “but it was a great example of our collaboration within the University spilling out into the professional world."