Lighting Designer
Catherine M. Pratt
Mood
Atmosphere
Environment
Ideas
Themes
How do you tell your story?
Within the world of theatre and dance, design brings stories alive around the performers. Lighting design can transform the story moment to moment, connecting the audience to the action and to each other. As a whole, the story is what drives the design. Broken down into each moment the use of color and the power of transitions can be used to create the mood, atmosphere, environment, and bring out the emotions driving the story forward. Through these elements, lighting is able to subconsciously pull the audience into the story and action.
For every production my goal is to capture the audience from the moment they walk into the theatre until they leave at the end of the performance. I utilize transitions, pacing, and movement to transform and carry the audience through the story. Each lighting cue is carefully considered to pull the audience into the performance, directing their attention to the action while building and transforming the world around them. Color is another element that I strongly use as a communication tool. Through color psychology, color is able to capture the viewer while informing them of the themes, moods, emotions, and emotional journey being told on a conscious and subconscious level.
No matter the production, the story and experiences in the theatre connect the audience together, leaving an impression long after the performance is over.
Catherine M. Pratt is a theatrical, dance, and opera Lighting Designer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of her recent lighting design credits include Approaching Ali (Opera Las Vegas, A Capacity for Evil (Opera Las Vegas), Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Rainbow Company Youth Theatre), Elf the Musical (Sierra Repertory Theatre), Letters to Lily (Opera Las Vegas), Proving Up (Opera Las Vegas), La Canterina & Der Scheuspiedirektor (UNLV Theater Opera & Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (UNLV Department of Dance), This Moment of Movement (UNLV Department of Dance), Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), and DramArt (a collaboration between UNLV and Cirque du Soleil). Prior to moving to Las Vegas, Catherine has previously worked with The Civic Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI) and New Harmony Theatre (New Harmony, IN).
Some of the recent awards Catherine has received are the Joe Aldridge Award for Outstanding Graduate in Design/Technology (May 2022), 3rd place in the 2021 SETC Design Competition for her Lighting Design of Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet at the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, and being a mentee in the 2021 Fred Foster Mentorship Program.
Outside of her work as a freelance lighting designer, Catherine is currently employed full-time with 4Wall Entertainment in Las Vegas, NV as the Prep Coordinator.
She has received her Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Lighting Design at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and her B.A. in Theatre from Mount Marty University in Yankton, SD.
Upcoming Projects:
- Lights! Camera! Action! Cinema in Song - Las Vegas Men's Chorus (Las Vegas, NV) - April 30th, 2023
- La Traviata - Opera Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)- June 9th & 11th, 2023