MORE ABOUT NIC
Graduation Date: June 2008
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
High School: Nashville School of the Arts
Awards & Achievements:
- President of the Theatre Schools ST*RS (Support Tomorrows Rising Stars)
Campus Involvement:
- Designed lighting for "Hamlet," "Life’s a Dream," "The Giver," "Sympathetic Magic," "Self Defense," "Breath Boom" and "Blur."
- Assisted the design for "The Trial" and "References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot."
- Acted as Master Electrician for "The Kingdom of Grimm."
Current Employment:
- Merle Reskin Theater
Nic Jones
Area of Study:Lighting Design
I chose my major because... I wanted to further explore the art of design in a theatrical setting.
I decided to attend DePaul because... I knew that I would love living in Chicago. Also, DePaul offers a very competitive theater program that promotes learning through doing, which meant getting a lot of practical experience.
My favorite professor at DePaul is... Barry Brunetti of The Theatre School. He has been not only a mentor and a teacher, but a good friend. I have also enjoyed Peg Birmingham’s classes in Liberal Arts and Sciences very much.
The class I most enjoyed here was... solo performance with Carlos Murillo, which has been one of the most enjoyable classes I have ever taken. I also learned a great deal as a designer from theatrical collaboration with Kimberly Senior.
When I have free time, I like to... You don’t get a lot of free time as a theater student.
One thing I didn’t know about DePaul before coming was... how excellent DePaul's music program is.
Here, the diversity of students, faculty and staff... exemplifies the Vincentian values the school was founded upon.
The greatest thing about going to school in Chicago is... there is always something to do in the city.
The Theatre School Conservatory was appealing to me because... The conservatory setting is what I found most appealing about the program. I liked the idea of taking classes that almost all relate to my major. I also knew I would be working on multiple shows in varying aspects each year I attended. Getting that immersion into my work has helped me grow and become a more confident artist.
My experience in The Theatre School from the perspective of a designer and a technician has been... excellent. You get a very special experience as a designer in theater. You begin collaborating with the director and other designers months in advance, making decisions about what the show should aim to accomplish and say to its audience. From then on, you continue to meet regularly — working on and off both by yourself and then back again with the design team. You really get to watch your art come to life slowly over many months, then you have to let it go and watch it evolve again when the audience comes into the play. Essentially, in theatrical design, we are in the business of building sandcastles.
The best thing about DePaul is... its urban setting.
My greatest success as a student here has been... Well, its gonna be graduating, hopefully.
After graduation, I plan to... work here in Chicago for a few years as a freelance lighting designer and assistant, then move to New York and give that a shot.
The one thing I’d like to say to students considering DePaul... it gets really, really cold here.
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