ABOUT

I am a lighting designer based in Brooklyn. My work has been presented in New York City, regionally across the U.S, and now in the U.K.

I often joke that it may be more accurate to call me a ‘darkness designer.’ My contributions bloom from design dramaturgy, space, and surprise. I especially enjoy developing new works and reigniting classics. I hope my designs activate elemental layers in stories, heightening our listening and empathy. I’m fascinated by the uncanny and delight in time as a medium. I like to challenge our definitions of spectacle. I celebrate vivid design that charges us with feeling and curiosity first before striving to please the camera— and often the camera does not capture my work. I prioritize kindness and fun in every process.

My designs have received accolades, including! 2 Tony nominations, 3 Lucille Lortel awards, 2 Obie Awards, Drama Desk Special Award, and a Henry Hewes Design Award. My design for Heroes of the Fourth Turning, (Will Arbery, 2019) received much press, some of which called the design “rich with portent and glinting significance” and “wonderfully dark… [where] the light only makes the shadows thicken… naturalism that’s also something more.”

A joint review in The New Yorker of Arbery’s Corsicana and Brian Watkin’s Epiphany, focused directly on the impact of the lighting, remarking…

“Byrd’s lighting, exerting a strong but delicate harmonic influence, like that of the double-bass in an orchestra, made the pieces cohere for me, forming a suite on the themes of the terror of love and the agonies of belief.”

In 2021, the revival of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club marked my West End debut and garnered an Olivier nomination. Soon after I made my Broadway debut in 2024 with both Cabaret and An Enemy of the People, staged in-the-round. Both designs received Tony nominations for Best Lighting Design of Musical and Play!

I am a member of USA-829 and support union labor and freelancer rights. In the industry pause created by the pandemic, I was able to realign toward arts activism in pay equity, food justice, and anti-racist listening spaces. See the news and press pages for upcoming projects, highlights, and links to features that begin to discuss my design thinking. I would love to expand my creative collaborations beyond the theatrical bubble. Don’t hesitate, say hello!

values

I strive for creative bravery and want to create alongside those who work to learn, listen, and create with compassion. This way of working can scratch both my art and technical brains while expanding that muscle in the center of my chest. Can we collaborate and care for our moral imagination? How can the liveness of performance space inspire greater change?

I wish I could say the theatre is always a rewarding place to be a freelance artist in America, but there are many caveats.  I know we must evolve: reorganize, reinvent, and un/learn to re/build systems that offer respect, equity, and artistic license to our artists and laborers. My citizenship, body, and artistry are tethered, and I am constantly working to support more intentional spaces within all of my collaborations. For me, this ethos is deeply tied to practicing antiracism, sustainability, and very importantly, kindness.

Here are some collaborators and friends who have shaped my recent body of work:

- Will Arbery - Annie Baker - dots - Rebecca Frecknall - Tom Scutt - Jeremy O.Harris - Martyna Majok - Mikaal Sulaiman - Lee Jellinek - Caitlin Sullivan - Kimie Nishikawa - Paul Toben - Sarafina Bush - Lee Kinney - Cheyenne Sykes - Aaron Tacy - Justin Ellington - Masha Tsmiring - Palmer Hefferan - Tyler Micoleau - Jane Cox - Matt Frey - B Norwood - Brian Watkins - Cate McCrea