Eric Watkins
About
Eric Watkins is a lighting designer for theatre and opera based in Chicago whose work is grounded in narrative and uses light not only to reveal story, but help tell it. Since 2014 he has become a fixture of the Chicago’s regional and storefront theatrical scenes, having worked with the likes of Steep, Remy Bumppo, Interrobang, Rivendell, About Face, Northlight, Definition, Red Tape, The Gift, Raven, City Lit, and Lifeline among many others. For these efforts he has been nominated for 3 Jeff awards for Lighting Design.
In the Opera world his work is regularly seen across the United States with very occasional stops in Europe. Notable designs have appeared at Dallas Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Arizona Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and the Lithuanian National Opera. As a staff assistant he has worked at San Francisco Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Metropolitan Opera.
In Early 2020 he designed a small international tour through Eastern Europe of Song of Home: a new devised work exploring stories of displaced women throughout history created by Theatre Lumina. Eric received his MFA from Boston University and is a proud member of USA 829, the theatrical design union.
