Theresa Comstock
Instructor, Lighting; Facilities Manager
MFA Theater Design and Technology, Northern Illinois University
therkel@siue.edu
618.650. 2360
Theresa Comstock is a lighting designer who worked in both Chicago and Kansas City prior to joining the lovely faculty, staff, and students at SIUE. A native of St. Louis, she is delighted to have returned to the area of her home town. She teaches the next generation of theater designers and technicians: lighting design, theatrical electrician methods, and stage management. As the Department of Theater and Dance Production Coordinator and Facilities Manager, she manages the department’s performance and rehearsal venues.
Some of her favorite productions to have worked on were No Such Thing as Midnight Black at the Kansas City Melting Pot Theater, Ubu Roi with the Organic Theater Company in Chicago, and Of Mice and Men with Monomoy Theater in Cape Cod.
Theresa delights in the ways lighting is discovered in nature and explored by other artists, particularly immersive art and theater works. One of her favorite lessons is practicing collaboration through students sharing discovery of installation and immersive art works. This is reflected in the work she produces as a lighting designer, a scenic designer, and artistic director.
Most recently, Theresa has expanded her creative role as an artistic director for two successful projects at SIUE during the Covid-19 pandemic. In the fall of 2020 she collaborated with fellow artistic director Kristin Best-Kinshoff to develop Garden Flow, an immersive outdoor dance performance. In the spring of 2021, she was an artistic director for the collaborative, visual design driven production of Design and Devise alongside fellow artistic director Tress Kurzym.
As a lighting designer, Theresa enjoyed collaborating with student and faculty filled production teams on the productions of She Kills Monsters, Dance in Concert, and Xtigone.
She joined SIUE after teaching lighting and scenic design at Benedictine College. Theresa earned her MFA in Theater Design and Technology with an emphasis in Lighting Design from Northern Illinois University.
