Robert Wierzel is an American lighting designer

Lighting designer

The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...

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Mr. Wierzel is well known for his work in the American regional theatre, with national and international opera companies, museum installations, and dance. For twenty-three years he has been a collaborator with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company is an American dance company based out of Harlem in New York City. Founded in 1983 by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, the company made its debut performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the world premiere of Intuitive Momentum with lauded drummer...

 and Bill T. Jones Dance Company.

Mr. Wierzel's work has been seen with the following companies: Glimmerglass Opera

Glimmerglass Opera

Glimmerglass Festival is an opera company which was founded in 1975 by Peter Macris and presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight miles north of Cooperstown, New York, United States.The summer-only season usually consists of four operas performed in...

, New York City Opera

New York City Opera

The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...

, Boston Lyric Opera

Boston Lyric Opera

Boston Lyric Opera is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976.Each season, BLO produces three mainstage productions at the Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre in Boston and a fully staged, one-hour English language version of a popular opera for school...

, Canadian Opera, Chicago Opera Theater

Chicago Opera Theater

The Chicago Opera Theater is an opera company that was founded as the Chicago Opera Studio in 1974 by Alan Stone to give vocal students performance experience, although it has grown into a professional opera company...

, Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera

Florida Grand Opera is an American opera company based in Miami, Florida. FGO was created in 1994 from the consolidation of two opera companies in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale region:...

, Folk Opera of Sweden, Gotham Chamber Opera

Gotham Chamber Opera

Gotham Chamber Opera is a professional opera company located in New York City, New York, and is a member of Opera America. The company specializes in producing rarely performed chamber operas from the Baroque era to the present. The company was founded in 2000 under the name of the Henry Street...

, Houston Grand Opera

Houston Grand Opera

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...

, Lincoln Center Great Performances, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...

, L'Operade of Montreal, Manhattan School of Music

Manhattan School of Music

The Manhattan School of Music is a major music conservatory located on the Upper West Side of New York City. The school offers degrees on the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition...

, Minnesota Opera

Minnesota Opera

The Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Frankenstein by Libby Larsen...

, Nashville Opera, Opera Cleveland, Opera Columbus, Opera Omaha

Opera Omaha

Opera Omaha is an opera company in Omaha, Nebraska. It is well known for premiering Wakonda's Dream, a contemporary opera about Native Americans set in the Niobrara....

, Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Opera

Pittsburgh Opera is an American opera company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is one of two opera companies in the city, the other being Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Opera gives performances in several venues, primarily at the Benedum Center, with other performances at the...

, Portland Opera

Portland Opera

Portland Opera is an American opera company based at The Hampton Opera Center in Portland, Oregon. Its mainstage performances take place in the Keller Auditorium, while the Portland Opera Studio Theater at the Hampton center is used for performances of chamber operas...

, San Diego Opera

San Diego Opera

The San Diego Opera Association is a professional opera company located in the city of San Diego, California and is a member of OPERA America. It was founded in 1950 to present productions by San Francisco Opera in the San Diego area...

, San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera

San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...

, Seattle Opera

Seattle Opera

The Seattle Opera is an opera company located in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as the company's first general director through 1983, Seattle Opera's season runs from August to late May, with five or six operas offered and with eight to ten performances each, often...

, Tokyo Opera, Utah Opera and Symphony, Vancouver Opera

Vancouver Opera

Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada.It performs in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two specialized opera orchestras in Canada...

, Virginia Opera

Virginia Opera

Virginia Opera is an opera company based in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Organized in 1974 by a group of Norfolk, Virginia community volunteers, Virginia Opera presented its first productions in 1975 and in the intervening four decades has become known and respected nationwide for the...

, Washington Opera, Doug Varone

Doug Varone

Choreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theater, opera, film, television and fashion. In 2007 he created three major pieces for his own Doug Varone and Dancers – the full-length multi-media Dense Terrain at Brooklyn Academy of Music, Victorious, commissioned by Bard’s SummerScape,...

 and Dancers, Donna Uchizono Dance Company, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Sean Curran Dance Company, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Diversions Dance Company, Alonzo's King's Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Larry Goldhuber Dance, Boston Ballet

Boston Ballet

Boston Ballet, founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams, was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. Boston Ballet’s national and international reputation developed under the leadership of Artistic Directors Violette Verdy , Bruce Marks , and Anna-Marie Holmes...

, London Contemporary Dance Theatre

London Contemporary Dance Theatre

The London Contemporary Dance Theatre was a contemporary dance company, based at The Place, founded by Robin Howard with Robert Cohan as its Artistic Director....

, Berlin Opera Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet

Milwaukee Ballet

The Milwaukee Ballet is a professional ballet company located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1969 by Roberta Boorse and held its first performance on April 24, 1970. It is currently ranked among the top twelve ballet companies in the United States...

, Hubbard Street Dance Company, Connecticut Ballet, Paul Hall Contemporary Dance Theatre, Alliance Theatre Company

Alliance Theatre Company

The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production at the Alliance in...

, A Contemporary Theatre of Seattle, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, A.C.T. American Conservatory Theatre, Alley Theatre

Alley Theatre

The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning indoor theatre in Downtown Houston, Texas, and hosts two stages. The "Hubbard" is the main stage with seating for 824; the more intimate "Neuhaus" seats 310. Nine towers and open-air terraces give the Alley Theatre a castle-like quality. Inside, a staircase...

, A.R.T. American Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage

Arena Stage

Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...

, Asolo Repertory Theatre

Asolo Repertory Theatre

The Asolo Repertory Theatre or Asolo Rep is a professional theater in Sarasota, Florida. It is the largest Equity theatre in Florida, and the largest Repertory theatre in the Southeastern United States. Asolo Rep is a resident regional theatre company which also invites in guest artists...

, Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1968, as the East Bay’s first resident professional theatre. Michael Leibert was the founding artistic director, who was then succeeded by Sharon Ott in 1984. The company runs seven...

, California Shakespeare Festival, Center Stage

Center Stage

Center Stage is a 2000 American drama film, directed by Nicholas Hytner, about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City...

, Center Theatre Group Los Angeles, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Minneapolis Children's Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse, Cleveland Playhouse, Dallas Theatre Center, Delaware Theatre Company, Georgestreet Playhouse, Geva Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, The Guthrie Theatre, Hartford Stage Company, Huntington Theatre Company

Huntington Theatre Company

The Huntington Theatre Company is a non-profit professional theater company in Boston, Massachusetts. The Huntington has garnered six Elliot Norton Awards and three Tony Award nominations for productions that were transferred to Broadway after critically acclaimed productions in Boston...

, Indiana Repertory Theatre Company, Long Wharf Theatre

Long Wharf Theatre

Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared....

, Los Angeles Theatre

Los Angeles Theatre

The Los Angeles Theatre is a 2,000 seat movie palace located at 615 S. Broadway in the historic Broadway Theater and Commercial District in Downtown Los Angeles.-History:...

, The Magic Theatre, McCarter Theatre

McCarter Theatre

McCarter Theatre is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It is one of the most active cultural centers in the nation, offering over 200 performances of theater, dance, music and special events each year...

, Merrimack Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, New Mexico Repertory Theatre, Old Globe Theatre

Old Globe Theatre

The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons...

, People's Light and Theatre Company

People's Light and Theatre Company

The People's Light & Theatre Company is a non-profit, professional theatre founded in 1974 in Malvern, Pennsylvania. People's Light produces 8-9 productions per season, as well as plays performed by the Summerstage school program. There is a holiday show each season, and the past 3 years have...

, Philadelphia Theatre Company

Philadelphia Theatre Company

The Philadelphia Theatre Company is a 501 non-profit theater company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. The company has produced over 100 world and Philadelphia premieres and has hosted dozens of nationally...

, Pittsburgh City Theatre, Playmakers Repertory Theatre, Portland Stage Company

Portland Stage Company

Portland Stage is the only professional LORT theater company in the state of Maine.As such, Portland Stage employs actors and stage managers who are members of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States....

, Royal Alexander Theatre, Toronto, Canada, St. Louis Repertory Theater, Santa Fe Stages, Shakespeare Theater Washington D.C., Signature Theatre Company

Signature Theatre Company

Signature Theatre Company, founded in 1991 by James Houghton, exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright’s body of work, and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process...

, Syracuse Stage

Syracuse Stage

Syracuse Stage is a professional non-profit theatre company in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. It is the premier professional theatre in Central New York. It was founded in 1974 by Arthur Storch, who was its first artistic director. The company grew out of the Syracuse Repertory Theatre that was...

, Virginia Stage Company, Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit theater in Westport, Connecticut. Under the artistic direction of Mark Lamos the Playhouse produces new and classic plays for the public....

, and Yale Repertory Theater.

Robert Wierzel is a multiple award winner. He has earned the Primetime Emmy Award

Primetime Emmy Award

The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming...

, Obie Award

Obie Award

The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...

, and Bessie Award along with several nominations for his work including multiple Audelco Award nominations, Joseph Jefferson Award nomination, Barrymore Award nomination, Helen Hayes Design Award nomination, and LA Theatre Ovation Award. In 1991 Mr. Wierzel was the recipient of the American Theatre Wing Lighting Design Award for his work with Philip Glass

Philip Glass

Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...

 on Hydrogen Jukebox

Hydrogen Jukebox

Hydrogen Jukebox is a phrase coined by beat poet Allen Ginsberg, from his poem Howl.It is also the name of a chamber opera featuring the music of Philip Glass and the poetry of Ginsberg.-History:Of the project, Glass said:...

. His work on "Fela!" earned him a Tony nomination (Best Lighting Design in a Musical) in 2010.

He teaches in the graduate lighting design program at New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

  Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts

Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....

  Department of Design for Stage and Film.

Mr. Wierzel resides in Connecticut with his family.

External links

• Department of Design for Stage and Film Bio