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 I strive to make the world of the play feel alive and attune my design to the emotional heart of a play. As a lighting designer, I want audiences to feel enveloped in the world created on stage. I utilize colour to create clear distinct locations that evoke emotional atmospheres. I build clean and dynamic transitions that signify wandering through a dark wood or the finite slamming of court doors.

 

 I work with an intimate knowledge of story having earned a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing. I have carried this knowledge into my lighting work. This knowledge allows me to connect with the beats of a story quickly and attune cues with a director’s vision.

  

I draw from a deeply inquisitive place. I pay close attention to my collaborator’s processes, early notions, and staged ideas. I am sensitive to my collaborators’ desires and strive to highlight their intentions. My favourite work creates moments where lighting provides a piece that ties the show together and supports the performers. For me, a performer’s chest rising greater as the lights shift in flow with their emotions confirms that magic is real and that we all get to feel it in the theatre.

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About

Za Hughes (they/them) is a White, queer, agender lighting designer and writer originally from Mississauga, ON. Za received their BFA in Theatre and Writing from the University of Victoria. Since graduating they have worked  across Canada and are currently based in the GTA. Za has lit for dance, musicals, and theatre.

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