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Mitchell Ost

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Mitchell Ost

Assistant Professor

Biography

Mitchell Ost is a lighting, projection, and scenic designer. His work ranges from storefront theaters to grand opera houses, retail stores, houses of worship, parties, fashion shows, concerts, corporate events, and everything in between.

Before entering academia, he worked around the globe as a freelance designer based out of New York City. He was the lighting designer for Joe's Pub, the cabaret venue at The Public Theatre. He is the resident designer of the Layon Gray American Theater Company where he designed the long-running off-Broadway show Black Angels Over Tuskegee, and all subsequent touring productions. With Layon Gray, he has designed all his new productions which premiere at the International Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, NC. He serves as the resident scenic, lighting, and projection designer for the M Ensemble Company in Miami, Florida's longest running black theater. In 2013, he was the technical director for the entire New York Fringe Festival, overseeing 20+ venues and over 200 productions.

He has taught at Indiana University, the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and The College Preparatory School in Oakland, CA. While at College Prep, he received the Outstanding Educator Award from The University of Chicago.

He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and USITT. In 2019 he received the USITT Travel Grant, give to one person per year, to develop his multi-media adaptation of Edwin Abbott's novella Flatland. 

Select Scholarship

Scene from The Guardians Of Yggdrasil at Z Space, San Francisco

The Guardians of Yggdrasil, dir. Mark Winges, Z Space (San Francisco, CA)

 

Scene from HMS Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore, dir. Ellen Brooks, Lamplighters Music Theatre (Mountain View, CA)

 

Scene from Black Angels Over Tuskegee 2022

Black Angels Over Tuskegee, dir. Layon Gray, Delaware Theatre Company (Wilmington, DE)

 

Scene from Cowboy 2022

Cowboy, dir. Layon Gray, International Black Theater Festival (Wake Forest University, NC)

 

Scene from The Kings of Harlem 2022

Kings of Harlem, dir. Layon Gray, Desert Financial Arena (Tempe, AZ)

 

Scene from Good Game, Yo! 2019

Good Game, Yo!, ch. Stafford Berry, Indiana University School of Theatre (Bloomington, IN)

 

Scene from West Side Story

West Side Story, dir. Michael Shell, Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, IN)

 

Scene from Ariadne Auf Naxos 2018

Ariadne Auf Naxos, dir. James Marvel,  Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, IN)

 

Scene from Sketches from Grace

Sketches of Grace, ch. Sasha Janes, Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, IN)

 

Scene from Red 2016

Red, dir. James Glossman, Shadowland Stages (Ellenville, NYC)

 

Upcoming External Projects:

The Girls of Summer at Delaware Theatre Company
Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grille at The M Ensemble Company
Boys of the Bamboo at The International Black Theatre Festival
Aladdin at the Hammer Theatre Center
The Spongebob Musical at Diablo Valley College
All In The Timing at Diablo Valley College
The Secret in the Wings at Head Royce School
The Comedy of Hamlet (A Prequel) at Diablo Valley College
Cowboy at Valley Center for the Performing Arts
It Can't Happen Here at Diablo Valley College

 

Courses

Stage Lighting
Lighting Design