Lighting Designer
Artistic Associate
Since 2005
Ms. Binder (she/her) is a Chicago based lighting designer who has been working in theatre, opera, and dance for over 30 years. In theatre, she has designed lighting for Writer’s Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare, The Court Theatre, Northlight Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and Geva Theatre Company among many others. Her opera designs include work with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theatre, San Francisco Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Sieji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival in Japan, and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. She is an Artistic Associate with the Lookingglass Theatre Company. She has been nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award several times and is the recipient of the Dora Award for Best Lighting Design for the Canadian Opera Company’s production of Eugene Onegin. She is the Head of Lighting Design for The Theatre School at DePaul University.
Bio as of 2025
Artist Media
Lookingglass Productions
Credits And Awards
Theatre Credits
Chicago
- Lyric Opera of Chicago
- Chicago Opera Theatre
- Writers Theatre
- Victory Gardens Theater
- Chicago Shakespeare Theater
- Court Theatre
- Northlight Theatre
- Steppenwolf Theatre Company
- Indiana Repertory Theatre
- Goodman Theatre
Regional
- San Francisco Opera
- Tulsa Opera
- Pittsburgh Opera
- New York City Opera
- Geneva Opera
- Houston Grand Opera
- Seattle Repertory Theatre
- Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Awards
- Jeff Nomination for Lighting Design – Large for The Whipping Man (Northlight Theatre, 2013)
- Jeff Nomination for Lighting Design for Pride and Prejudice (Northlight Theatre, 2006)
- Jeff Nomination for Lighting Design for Lookingglass Alice (Lookingglass Theatre Company, 2005)
- Non-Equity Jeff Nomination for Lighting Design for Hunchback (Redmoon Theater, 2001)
Education
MFA Lighting Design and Technology, Northern Illinois University
