about

Ryan is an experienced designer specializing in the design of physical scenery and lighting systems. With a plethora of experience from designing live theatrical productions, Ryan has also served as designer-in-residence numerous times with multiple companies across the United States, from Florida to New York.

As a scenographer specializing in physical, tangible scenery and lighting, Ryan firmly believes that the heart of every design, every arrangement - the sheer excitement of being inside a design in a tangible space - always depends on razor sharp storytelling. Add in a sharp knack for working with shoestring budgets, and the result is high-quality production value that fits almost anyone's budgeting.

While the majority of his experience comes from designing traditional (albeit expressionistic) scenery and lighting in a live theatre environment, creating fully immersive, living, breathing worlds that capture the audiences imagination has been Ryan's goal since the beginning. The full role of 'scenographer', while it may have been largely lost in the professional American Theatre and visual arts scene since the mid-20th century, functionally remains Ryan's ultimate career goal.

Outside of design work, Ryan is an avid fan of rich stories and video games, especially story-driven, immersive RPGs. Of course he had previously devoured CD Projekt Red's entire 'The Witcher' franchise (1 through 3), read every book in Sapkowski's Witcher series, and watched the original Polish television series before Netflix even announced their take on the series. Ryan would love to discuss the ins and outs of this universe (and many others like it) with fellow nerds!

Recent awards include:

Orlando Sentinel 2019 Best Lighting Design, 1984 (won),
Sarasota Herald Tribune 2018 Best Lighting Design, Northside Hollow (won),
Theatre Tampa Bay 2017 Best Lighting Design, A Skull In Connemara (won),
Theatre Tampa Bay 2015 Best Lighting Design, Imagining Madoff (won),

Theatre Tampa Bay 2018 Best Lighting Design, The Threepenny Opera (nominated),
Sarasota Herald Tribune 2017 Best Lighting Design, The Bridges of Madison County (nominated),
Theatre Tampa Bay 2017 Best Lighting Design, Gloucester Blue (nominated),
Theatre Tampa Bay 2016 Best Lighting Design, Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche (nominated),
Sarasota Herald Tribune 2016 Best Lighting Design, The Drowning Girls (nominated),
Broadway World St. Pete Outstanding Lighting Design Award, The Drowning Girls (nominated),
Creative Loafing Tampa 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Best of the Bay Lighting Design (nominated),
Broadway World St. Pete 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Best Local Lighting Designer (nominated), and
Broadway World St. Pete 2015 Best Lighting Design, Imagining Madoff (nominated).