Josh Epstein (he/him)
- Education:
- University of Chicago, Bachelor of Arts
New York University, Master of Fine Arts
Biography
Josh Epstein is a lighting designer for theater, opera and dance as well as environmental and event spaces.
He has spent much of his over-twenty-year career designing in many of the top regional theaters across the country including: the Guthrie Theater, Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, Goodman Theater, Geffen Playhouse, Kirk Douglas Theater, Philadelphia Theater Company, Pasadena Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, Trinity Rep, Geva Theatre Center, Playmakers Rep, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Actor's Theater of Louisville and The Alliance Theater. He has also served multiple times as the Resident Lighting Designer for the O'Neill Playwrights Conference.
His opera and dance work include productions at The Joyce Theater, Minnesota Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Danspace at St. Marks, Virginia Opera, Opera Saratoga, Opera Santa Barbara, Wolf Trap Opera Company, The 92nd St. Y’s Harkness Dance Project, Berkshire Opera festival and the Manhattan School of Music.
Josh designed the lighting for the award-winning Macy's New York City Holiday Windows for a number of years. He has designed the lighting environment for VIP party spaces at the MTV Video Music Awards and the VH-1 Hip Hop Honors. He has also designed lighting for a multitude of different events and fashion shows throughout the New York area. He is also the creator of innovative, digital collaboration software for live events. Cuelist has rethought the
incredibly antiquated process of marking and sharing the placement of cues during rehearsal.
Annotating scripts, describing cues, sharing information and making necessary changes is now an instantaneous, collaborative and environmentally friendly process. His software is used by Universities and professional designers around the world.
Josh received his B.A. from the University of Chicago and his MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Prior to joining Chapman University, he served as a faculty member at the USC School of Dramatic Arts, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and Sarah Lawrence College.
Josh is an LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award Winner, Knight of Illumination 2019 Winner, Washington D.C. Helen Hayes Award Nominee and a Knight of Illumination Theatre Shortlisted Designer for his work in 2018. He was also a recipient of the highly prestigious NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Designers. Josh is an IAMA Theatre Company Ensemble Member and also currently serves on the O'Neill Playwrights Conference Artistic Council.
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters.
Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications
-
Lighting designer for the world premiere of RADICAL, OR ARE YOU GOING TO MISS ME? by Isaac Gomez with the Iama Theatre Company in Los Angeles, CA. This production received considerable acclaim from Los Angeles critics and audiences.
-
Lighting designer for the world premiere of THE BOTTOMING PROCESS by Nicholas Pilapil with the Iama Theatre Company and the Los Angeles LBGT Center, in Los Angeles, CA. This production featured Broadway star George Salazar and television star, Rick Cosnett in the lead roles.
-
Lighting designer for the West Coast premiere of THE INHERITANCE by Matthew Lopez at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, CA. The production was lauded by critics and named one of the Country's best theater productions in 2022 by the Los Angeles Times.