Mountain Lights

Thesis project at U.T. Austin for live design and production MFA.

Also selected for the upcoming Cohen New Works Festival 2025.

Instillation by Gavin Strawnato

Production Managed by Katelyn Nguyên

Sound Design by K.P. Pierce

Load in/Construction Help by Zach Young

Lighting Advisor Michelle Habeck

Projections Advisor Katherine Freer

Scenic Advisor Josafath Reynoso

Photography by Gavin Strawnato

When I was 7 years old I fell in love with the universe. I looked out from a double wide on the side of a mountain. In the waving oak trees a galaxy of fireflies mirrored the stars overhead and everything felt so small and infinite and beautiful. To me it felt like the vinyl lattice of the porch was the only barrier keeping me from tipping forward into space. The distant interstate seemed to rumble in harmony to the cicadas and the wind in the oak leaves. Everything felt so alive and so beautiful. This moment of beauty in the vastness of everything has defined how I see the world and people in it.
I am very proud to present Mountains Lights this week as a conclusion to my time in academia and an artistic return home to when I first fell in love with the world.