Tobby Tao
I am a lighting and sound designer with over a decade of experience across China, the US, and the UK, working across theatre, touring musicals, concerts, and large-scale public events, including the World Wushu Championships and the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000. I hold an MFA in Production Design and Technology (Lighting Design) and a Graduate Certificate in Arts in Health, both from Ohio University.
This work spans both large public spectacles and intimate theatre. In 2024, I served as lighting designer for 9 to 5 and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, both recognized with the Ezekiel Award of Outstanding Achievement. I also designed lighting for the premiere of the musical Miracle at Goldsmiths, University of London, and was later invited back to design its 2025 UK tour, with performances at The Cockpit, Bridewell Centre, and Leith Arches. I’ve also worked as assistant lighting designer at Indiana Repertory Theatre.
My recent work centers on doing more with less. My article “Four Speakers, A Swarm of Spiders,” published in Lighting & Sound America (May 2026), examines how immersive sound design can be achieved on a proscenium stage with a minimal speaker configuration.
Technically, I work across ETC EOS, GrandMA, and Avolites consoles, OSC/MIDI/Art-Net control protocols, and QLab, with additional hands-on experience in electrical calculation, LED fabrication, and video/broadcast systems. I hold Adobe Certified Professional credentials in Video Design.
Beyond lighting and sound design, I bring a broader production skill set built over years of hands-on technical work, including experience as assistant director and sound engineer, and configuring live LED screens and broadcast systems for large-scale events. This range lets me move fluidly across design, programming, and production roles, and to problem-solve across departments rather than within a single discipline.
I currently teach lighting and sound design as Assistant Professor of Theatre Lighting and Sound Design at Indiana University South Bend, where recent productions include Tartuffe and Ride the Cyclone.
