Kelli Zezulka
Biography
Kelli received a BA in theatre from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA. She then went on to train at LAMDA, where she specialised in lighting. Kelli has also completed an MA by research degree from University of Leeds, which concerned the history of lighting design at the Royal Court Theatre. She is in the final year of a PhD at University of Leeds, where she is examining how lighting designers use language to exercise agency in creative collaboration.
Three days after graduating from LAMDA, Kelli started at the Royal Court as lighting board operator and was promoted to lighting assistant twelve months later. She left the Court after three and a half years for a brief stint with the RSC, and is now based in Leeds where, until September 2010, she worked as a production electrician at West Yorkshire Playhouse. She now designs for small- and mid-scale theatre and opera, mostly in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Kelli is a dual UK/US citizen.
Recent credits: Dorian (Proper Job Theatre), Medusa (Proper Job Theatre), assistant lighting designer (LD: Matt Haskins) for Opera North fairytale season (The Snow Maiden, Hansel & Gretel and La Cenerentola), Cinderella (Northern Opera Group), You Forgot the Mince (Imagine if Theatre Company), Revenger's Tragedy (Wellfangled Theatre), The Maids, Playhouse Creatures, Miss Julie, Playboy of the Western World (Hedgepig Theatre Company), Othello (York Shakespeare Project), Somebody's Son, Bag Lady (Hidden Gems Productions), 59 Minutes to Save Christmas (Slung Low), Amsterdam (currently on tour), which was nominated for Best Studio Production in the Manchester Theatre Awards.
Specialisms
- Regional (Main House)
- Regional (Studio)
- Fringe / Pub Theatre
- Large scale
- Small scale
- Commercial & Retail
- Lectures
- Workshops
- Training
Previous productions
| Show name | Type | Venue/Company | Role | Creative Team | Opened | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Trial | Theatre |
Proper Job Theatre, then touring
Proper Job Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Jamie Beale Set designer: Laura Davies |
||
| Me, Myself and Misha | Dance |
Bramall Rock Void, Leeds Playhouse
Terpsichoring |
Lighting Designer |
Choreographer: Ana Silverio |
||
| Dorian | Theatre |
Square Chapel, Halifax, then touring
Proper Job Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Chloe Whitehead Set designer: Laura Davies |
||
| Medusa | Theatre |
Square Chapel, Halifax, then touring
Proper Job Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: James Beale Set designer: Laura Davies |
||
| La Cenerentola | Opera |
Leeds Grand Theatre
Opera North |
Assistant Lighting Designer |
Lighting designer: Matthew Haskins Director: Aletta Collins Set designer: Giles Cadle |
||
| Hansel and Gretel | Opera |
Leeds Grand Theatre
Opera North |
Assistant Lighting Designer |
Lighting designer: Matthew Haskins Director: Edward Dick Set designer: Giles Cadle |
||
| The Snow Maiden | Opera |
Leeds Grand Theatre
Opera North |
Assistant Lighting Designer |
Lighting designer: Matthew Haskins Director: John Fulljames Set designer: Giles Cadle |
||
| Cinderella | Opera |
Duke Studios, Leeds
Northern Opera Group |
Lighting Designer |
Director: David Ward |
||
| You Forgot the Mince | Theatre |
Civic Theatre, Barnsley, then touring
Imagine Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Stephen Whitson Set designer: Emma Williams |
||
| Revenger's Tragedy | Theatre |
University of York
Wellfangled Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Mark France Set designer: Simon Jarvis |
||
| The Maids | Theatre |
Rural Arts Courthouse, Thirsk, then touring
Hedgepig Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Andy Curry |
||
| 59 Minutes to Save Christmas | Theatre |
Z-Arts, Manchester
Slung Low |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Alan Lane |
||
| Bag Lady | Theatre |
Hull Truck Theatre, then touring
Hidden Gems Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Amanda Huxtable |
||
| Amsterdam | Theatre |
Contact Theatre, Manchester, then touring
Afrique Performs |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Juliet Ellis Set designer: Giulia Scrimieri |
||
| 59 Minutes to Save Christmas | Theatre |
Cast, Doncaster
Slung Low |
Lighting Designer | |||
| Bag Lady | Theatre |
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, then touring
Hidden Gems Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Amanda Huxtable |
||
| Colour Music | Environmental |
Leeds Carriageworks
Light Night Leeds |
Lighting Designer | |||
| Playboy of the Western World | Theatre |
Seven Arts, Leeds, then touring
Hedgepig Theatre |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Andy Curry |
||
| Miss Julie | Theatre |
Leeds Carriageworks, then touring
Hedgepig Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Andy Curry |
||
| Othello | Theatre |
York Theatre Royal Studio
York Shakespeare Project |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Mark France Set designer: Simon Jarvis |
||
| Playhouse Creatures | Theatre |
41 Monkgate, York
Hedgepig Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Andy Curry |
||
| Somebody's Son | Theatre |
Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield, then touring
Hidden Gems Productions |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Amanda Huxtable Set designer: Emma Williams |
||
| The Leeds Music Hub | Corporate & Industrial |
The Leeds Music Hub
|
Lighting Designer | |||
| Narcissus and Echo | Opera |
The Lowry, Salford, then touring
|
Lighting Designer |
Director: Chris Hill Set designer: Lucy Read |
||
| Macbeth | Theatre |
41 Monkgate, York
Mooted Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Mark France Set designer: Simon Jarvis |
||
| Mela | Theatre |
West Yorkshire Playhouse Courtyard Theatre, then touring
West Yorkshire Playhouse |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Alex Chisholm Set designer: Barney George |
||
| Money Makes You Happy | Theatre |
Bridewell Theatre
Baseless Fabric |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joanna Turner |
||
| Measure for Measure | Theatre |
Bridewell Theatre
Baseless Fabric |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joanna Turner |
||
| Macbeth | Theatre |
Bridewell Theatre
Baseless Fabric |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joanna Turner |
||
| The Memory of Water | Theatre |
Hen and Chickens Theatre
Catlix |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Britten Barry |
||
| An Experiment with An Air Pump | Theatre |
Royal Court Theatre, Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
John Lewis Amateur Dramatics |
Lighting Designer | |||
| Touch | Theatre |
White Bear Theatre
Baseless Fabric |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joanna Turner |
||
| Rainbow Conversations | Theatre |
White Bear Theatre
Baseless Fabric |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joanna Turner |
||
| Saved or Destroyed | Theatre |
Old Red Lion Theatre
The Kondoleon Project |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Andrea Kantor |
||
| Translations | Theatre |
MacOwan Theatre
LAMDA |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Joseph Blatchley Set designer: Richard Bullwinkle |
||
| Handbag | Theatre |
MacOwan Theatre
LAMDA |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Gari Jones Set designer: Richard Bullwinkle |
||
| Accrington Pals | Theatre |
MacOwan Theatre
LAMDA |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Fiona Buffini Set designer: Richard Bullwinkle |
||
| Deathtrap | Theatre |
Heritage Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
Director: Karey Faulkner |
||
| Fur and Other Dangers | Theatre |
Source Theatre, Washington DC
Source Theatre Company |
Lighting Designer |
| Contact method | Details |
|---|---|
| Email address | kelli.zezulka@thealpd.org.uk |