Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Whitfield, Michael
British Columbia-based lighting designer, Michael Whitfield studied theatre at the University of Victoria, Villanova University, and the University of Illinois. In 1974, he began a long association with the Stratford Festival, where he was the Resident Lighting Designer from 1980 to 2007 for a wide range of over one hundred plays and musicals, including The Mikado, Amadeus, King Lear, School for Scandal, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Camelot and Oedipus Rex. He has worked extensively in theatres across Canada, including the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and the Shaw Festival (She Loves Me, 2000).
In 1988 he received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for his design for Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Toward the Somme (Canadian Stage).
He has also designed extensively for opera and ballet, notably the Canadian Opera Company for thirty years (eighty-five productions), San Francisco Opera, Minnesota Opera, Dallas Opera, Vancouver Opera, National Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre (among many others).
Whitfield has taught at educational institutions in Canada and the US, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria. He is married to designer Susan Benson; they live on Saltspring Island.
Source: thetitleblock.com.
Last updated 2022-03-09
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