Abi Farnsworth realized her technical theatre design passion early in middle school when deciding spotlight gel colors and cue timing for Little Mermaid Jr.

     Abi joined Stage Crew in high school, working with Arrowhead Drama and the musical theatre troupe Arrowhead Broadway Company on 15 show runs. Abi Farnsworth studied theatre technology and production under award winning artists including director Marilynn Markano, lighting designer Scott Micheals, sound designer Matt Pea, and scenic designer/technical director Matthew Carr.

     After completing a sound design internship at Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, Abi Farnsworth accepted employment her senior year of high school as a live mixing sound engineer for concerts and musicals at Sunset Playhouse including The Producers. Abi accepted a rare student invitation to sound design Arrowhead’s production of Neil Simon’s Fools, and won a Jerry Award for stage management of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast at Arrowhead Union before attending the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

     As a BFA candidate for Theatre Design & Production, Abi quickly advanced to employment in frequent head electrician roles in tandem with lighting design work for the University of Michigan Departments of Dance, Theatre, and Musical Theatre, as well as University of Michigan and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance student produced work including:

     At the University of Michigan as a BFA candidate in Theatre Design and Production, Abi Farnsworth designed lighting in collaboration with notable stage directors including:

     When COVID transformed the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor performance season into a virtual format, Abi designed lighting for numerous theatre-to-film productions including Shakespeare’s As You Like It in the Arthur Miller Theatre and MT Ghostlight: False Beginnings. Interested in how light translates from live events to film, Abi Farnsworth applied to and completed a dual degree Bachelor of Arts in Film, Television, & Media at the University of Michigan’s School of Literature, Science, and Arts.

     Abi Farnsworth accepted an invitation to join Multiverse Media Student Film Production group as a founding board member and Technical Director, winning an Accolades award for outstanding achievement by a student organization in film & video its very first year.

     Abi Farnsworth herself became a two-time Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Lighting Design Award Winner in a field that included MFA student lighting designers, receiving Honorable Mention for Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow and Meritorious Achievement for Guys and Dolls as a BFA candidate in theatrical lighting design.

     Before starting her Masters of Fine Arts in Lighting Design for Stage and Film at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Abi Farnsworth participated in projects including:

Abi Farnsworth started graduate work in NYC with Head Electrician experience in seasons of productions at:

     Abi Farnsworth continues in her role as Assistant Lighting Designer for the remounting of Orlando Ballet’s 50th Anniversary reimagining of The Nutcracker, having served on the original team who mounted its premiere under lighting designer Joseph Walls in 2023.